Watching MSNBC. They show footage of two pvt planes colliding over Boulder or thereabouts today. Any other info?
EDIT: msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp … 8#35273678 (video—sorry if it doesn’t work)
Certainly looks like the BRS of a Cirrus…
WARNING; the link below is from CBS News, however it is video of the falling Cirrus SR-20 N825BC, very close view.
While a horrific accident, it is redeeming to note that the CAPS deploys in the event of an accident mid-air and that the tethers to the parachute are flame retardant. Either way, very sad video though.
They deploy on impact with the ground too.
Not always.
Often. Not sure how many have impacted the ground hard but from what I’ve seen they usually deploy.
OK…just to be clear here…you’re saying that when the aircraft impacts the ground, as in a crash into terra firma, the chute deploys? What would be the purpose of that? I’ve got a pre-bowl buzz going so I’m trying to visualize the aircraft crashing and then POOOF! the chute deploys. I’m not sure if I should be laughing.
Like an automobile airbag, I’m sure it is deployed with the use of an explosive device. Just like the cartridge on a bullet, if it’s hit in the right place with enough force, it’ll detonate. If anything, the parachute will have kept the airframe intact enough for the post-crash investigation I guess. Even though I don’t own a Cirrus, I do find it comforting that in the event of an incapacitating crash, that there is still a possibility of surviving the accident. The outcome is sad, but in a way that accident is a win for Cirrus and the CAPS system.
I’m not saying it’s made to do that but it happens. It does make it a easier on search and rescue when there’s a big orange and white parachute in the trees.
ok… I gotcha…just appeared by the way the post was heading that it might be a glitch…never thought of post SAR events. Sorry…thanks for clarifying guys…I’m trying to “stay thirsty my freinds”. 
Yeah Tony, I get images of Vegas Vacation and the airbags/trashbags deploying in the old family truckster - after the crash. I doubt it’s really as comedic as that though. And all your drinking talk has got me thirsty now too - bout to go enjoy a frosty adult beverage myself!
Frank’s not wrong, but it’s not a certainty that a chute will deploy on impact. They’re highly resistive to unintentional deployment and, barring breakup of the aircraft in flight, will often survive ground impact intact and undeployed.
BRS has taken great pains to educate first responders on how best to disarm and handle their systems after an accident.
That’s interesting JH - something I haven’t thought about before. Imagine the one having to disarm one of those at the scene - I bet catching one of those rockets in the chest wouldn’t exactly tickle. I wonder if the post-collision fire is what set off the rocket and not the actual collision itself. Thanks for posting that - I learn something every day.
Yes, indeed. I hadn’t considered that possibility either. My guess is that the percentage of first responders who are familiar with these units is very low. Even if all airport emergency personnel have some knowledge on handling of the deployment system, one has to remember that most aircraft accidents occur off-airport. The first responders end up being the closest fire, police, or EMS unit to the scene, or sometimes even bystanders in the vicinity.
We had a cirrus involved in a landing accident a few years ago where the airplane ended up in a field across the street from the airport. My buddy was working that day and was first on the scene. The pilot was uninjured.
The fire and police arrived and started poking around… except for one nosy police officer who thought it’d be a good idea to step up on the wing of the plane.
My buddy yells to him, “Uh, you don’t know what you’re doing so you have no business standing on that plane. It’s on private, airport owned property, there were no injuries…” basically GTF off.
The cop blew him off.
So he continued, “in case you wanted to know, that aircraft is equipped with a rocket propelled parachute that blows a hole in the back of the plane and I don’t know if it has been disabled yet…”
You should’ve seen the cop run.
They set up a secure area right after.
The dog seemed unmoved.
Video Interview on the Glider Pilot and Pax that collided with the Cirrus