[ from ANN ]](Two Safe Following Cirrus CAPS Deployment Over Nantucket | Aero-News Network) 5 miles NE of Nantucket Airport due to deteriorating weather.[ FAA Registry ]](http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/nnumsql.asp?NNumbertxt=869CD)
Deteriorating weather doesnt cause someone to deploy the 'chute.
Losing control of the airplane due to bad airmanship caused by improper training and judgement caused an unwary pilot to get in over his head and pulling the chute was a last-ditch effort to safe his life.
There are many things wrong with this story that irk me, but the rest of my rant will have to wait for later.
Classic VFR into IFR conditions per article. Article doesn’t say if pilot was IA rated.
At least the “chute” saved his skin, whether he learned from it or not we probably will never know…
Allen
My point exactly.
It’s classic because it happens all the time. We train for it. He know how to avoid getting into those situations in the first place.
Instrument conditions alone don’t warrant deployment of an onboard parachute. As you know, ALL pilots are trained with the basic understanding of how to fly using instruments alone. And besides, it’s not exactly like it became IFR all of a sudden…how long was he pressing on in deteriorating conditions before he lost control? (I’m assuming he lost control, why else would you intentionally crash your airplane? otherwise, it’d go something like this, “uh, Cape Approach, Emergency, Cirrus 869CD, we’re over Nantucket, we’re IMC, request vectors back to _______ please.”
“cirrus 869CD, are you IFR rated and equipped?”
“uh, no sir, I am not IFR rated, I need some assistance here, I’m not sure where I am at this point…”)
It’s Nantucket after all, known for it’s poor weather conditions. What was the TAF calling for that night?
The airplane came down on land, he must have been circling the airport or something. If you’re VFR, flying to ACK at night, you’d better get the ATIS before crossing the water, and be able to see the lights of the island before heading out to sea.
Check the tracklog on this flight.
FA even caught the chute deployment part as he gently touched terra firma at a cruising ~80 knots on his descent beginning 5:56.
Wonder if NTSB will use this as factual info in their investigation???
Allen, that flight was from ACK to HPN a week before the accident flight.
Oh, duh! 
True, but it was obviously an IFR flight plan. The plot thickens…
[quote=“jhwenger”]
The flight with CAPS deployment appears to have been VFR according to FA and the news article.
While I agree with you that this is a classic case of poor pilot judgment that happens all too frequently, I doubt that many VFR pilots could fly very far in IMC from the little instrument training that they received during their basic training and likely have not practiced since. Pilots in that situation typically believe what their inner ear is telling them more than what the instruments say and end up in a death spiral.
When I lived in San Diego, this happened many times when the fog came in faster and earlier than forecast. I spoke to a controller there who said that the procedure they found worked best when a VFR pilot was caught above an undercast layer and asking for help was to take them over the ocean (so they wouldn’t hurt anyone else if they crashed), tell them to trim the aircraft to fly straight and level, then have them gradually pull back the power to start a slow decent while telling them not to touch the flight controls. The plane would basically fly itself until it was below the undercast and the the pilot could take over.
Step one. Put the Autopilot on heading mode and Altitude hold.
Step two. Fly West.
You’re a hero.
(assuming there was no malfunction in the avionics)
[ FAA Preliminary Report ]](http://www.faa.gov/data_statistics/accident_incident/preliminary_data/events01/media/08_869CD.txt)
KACK 180253Z 22003KT 5SM -RA BR FEW008 BKN033 BKN044 19/18 A2979 RMK AO2 SLP088 P0037 60040 T01890178 56010
KACK 180251Z 22004KT 5SM -RA BR FEW008 BKN033 BKN044 19/18 A2980 RMK AO2 P0037
KACK 180153Z 27007KT 3SM -RA BR BKN005 OVC009 21/19 A2982 RMK AO2 CIG 003V008 SLP096 P0002 T02060194
KACK 180100Z 20007KT 3SM BR SCT001 BKN007 BKN015 20/19 A2981 RMK AO2 RAE0054
KACK 180053Z 21006KT 2 1/2SM -RA BR BKN001 OVC015 20/19 A2982 RMK AO2 RAB17 SLP098 P0001 T02000189
KACK 180050Z 21006KT 2 1/2SM -RA BR OVC001 20/19 A2982 RMK AO2 RAB17 P0001
KACK 180045Z 21008KT 1 3/4SM -RA BR OVC001 20/19 A2982 RMK AO2 RAB17 P0000
KACK 180025Z 22008KT 1/2SM -RA FG VV001 20/19 A2982 RMK AO2 RAB17 P0000
KACK 180018Z 22008KT 1SM -RA BR VV001 20/19 A2982 RMK AO2 RAB17 P0000
KACK 180014Z 21008KT 2 1/2SM BR SCT001 20/19 A2982 RMK AO2
KACK 172353Z 22007KT 6SM HZ CLR 20/17 A2982 RMK AO2 SLP097 T02000172 10256 20194 58003
KACK 172253Z 25008KT 10SM CLR 21/13 A2983 RMK AO2 SLP103 T02110133
KACK 172153Z AUTO 26010KT 10SM CLR 22/14 A2984 RMK AO2 SLP104 T02170139 TSNO
KACK 172053Z AUTO 26013KT 10SM CLR 23/13 A2983 RMK AO2 SLP101 T02280128 55008 TSNO
KACK 171953Z AUTO 26016KT 10SM CLR 25/10 A2983 RMK AO2 SLP100 T02500100 TSNO
KACK 171853Z AUTO 26017KT 10SM CLR 26/16 A2984 RMK AO2 SLP105 T02560156 TSNO
KACK 171753Z 26016G22KT 8SM BR CLR 25/18 A2985 RMK AO2 SLP109 T02500178 10256 20206 56011
I’m a 5000 hour local Nanucket pilot. This plane landed about a mile from my house.
Note the collapse in the temp dew point spread over about a 1 hour period. Even for Nantucket, this is pretty unusual - usually the spread is much more narrow and just closes up at dusk.
To the point(s) raised above, the Cape and Islands are simply no place for a non-Instrument rated pilot to make a VFR night flight. Possible exception: Full moon, CAVU.
Once a pilot gets out over Nantucket Sound (or anywhere 10-15 miles south of the Cape) it’s mostly a horizon-less void. Nantucket Island doesn’t throw off much light for horizon determination. Worse yet, in good viz conditions numerous distant fishing boats look very much like stars and can ‘bend’ any perspective of the horizon. Certainly in viz conditions less than 10 miles, you’re effectively on instrument conditions for 5-10 minutes at 120kts GS. In general, I strongly encourage my VFR only pilot friends to leave well before dark, but even then not if the viz is less than 10.
I’ll be very interested to learn why the pilot pulled the chute when he did. The plane landed on the LORAN tower, which usually pokes above the mist, and is only 1/4 mile from the ocean. Was the tower a literal ‘land’ mark?
BTW, in the winter RWY 33 is usually the active. For a non-instrument rated pilot at night the base turn - even in in CAVU conditions - (usually on the right, but not much better on the left) is trecherous because it has to be made over open dark wark.
Be extra careful when visiting our island.
I’m a 5000 hour local Nanucket pilot. This plane landed about a mile from my house.
Landed? My standards are a little higher. Thanks but no thanks for the ride.
That works if he gets the autopilot on BEFORE he’s in trouble. If he’s already banking say 40 and pitched down say 20 (death sprial), the autopilot won’t engage, or it will then disengage as the servos are pushed to far.
But I agree 100%…enter cloud, say to self, “self we’re in big trouble, push AP button. Hit ALT, turn the knob back to where we came from” “Yea, I’m a hero, I saved my own life, the gene pool is save.” 
From The Inqiurer and Mirror, Nantucket paper.
A small private plane equipped with a parachute made a crash landing near the LORAN Tower in Sconset just after 8:30 p.m. Friday when the pilot became disoriented while trying to land at Nantucket Memorial Airport, according to a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The pilot was trying to land the plane, a four-seat Cirrus SR20, in less than ideal conditions at the airport, when he became lost and, according to deputy police chief Charlie Gibson, deployed the parachute. Gibson said the plane then drifted back toward the ocean before the pilot used its propeller power to turn the plane around.
The aircraft then drifted into the vicinity of the LORAN tower on Low Beach Road, making contact with an antenna wire on the tower, which caused the parachute to fail and the plane to plummet to the ground.
The two people aboard the plane have not been identified, other than as the pilot and his wife, who is six months pregnant. The plane is registered to Thomas Jackson of 6 Prospect St. on Nantucket. No one answered the door at that address earlier this week.
The pilot was unconscious when emergency officials arrived, but his wife was able to walk away from he crash. She did, however, suffer compacted vertebrae.
Gibson said the pilot suffered broken bones and compacted vertebrae and was eventually taken to Boston via Medflight after being treated at Nantucket Cottage Hospital Friday night. The condition of pilot and passenger at this time is unknown.
Gibson said a number of people witnessed the crash because the small rocket that deploys the parachute from the plane makes a distinct noise, and it happened in the area of the police barracks off Low Beach Road, where many regular and summer special police officers are housed.
The plane was taken to Nantucket Memorial Airport the next day and is being stored in a hangar on airport property, pending an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, which usually takes a full year to complete an investigation and issue a report.
Gibson said the pilot was attempting to make a visual landing, which can be tricky in bad weather, when the haze thickened and fog started to develop. He was offered the chance to make an instrument landing by air traffic controllers at Nantucket Memorial Airport, but he was not an instrument-qualified pilot and declined, said Gibson, who continued that the pilot decided to make an emergency landing and deployed the parachute.
Gibson also said he had looked at the planes flight path on an aircraft tracking website and it appeared the plane never came close to the airport, suggesting the foul weather was the major contributing factor to the crash.
Traffic into and out of the airport was halted until air-traffic controllers were assured the plane was on the ground.
The crash occurred about 20 minutes before a powerful thunderstorm swept over the island, further decreasing visibility.
The Cirrus SR20 sells new for about $260,000, and according to a number of aviation publications and websites is favored by wealthy, novice pilots because of its onboard parachute. It has been criticized, however, for giving those same pilots a false sense of security in deteriorating conditions.ith a parachute made a crash landing near the LORAN Tower in Sconset just after 8:30 p.m. Friday when the pilot became disoriented while trying to land at Nantucket Memorial Airport, according to a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The pilot was trying to land the plane, a four-seat Cirrus SR20, in less than ideal conditions at the airport when he became lost and, according to deputy police chief Charlie Gibson, deployed the parachute. Gibson said the plane then drifted back toward the ocean before the pilot used its propeller power to turn the plane around.
The aircraft then drifted into the vicinity of the LORAN tower on Low Beach Road, making contact with an antenna wire on the tower, which caused the parachute to fail and the plane to plummet to the ground.
The two people aboard the plane have not been identified, other than as a man and his wife, who is six months pregnant, but the plane is registered to Thomas Jackson of 6 Prospect St. on Nantucket. No one answered the door at that address earlier this week.
The pilot was unconscious when emergency officials arrived, but his wife was able to walk away from he crash. She did, however, suffer compacted vertebrae.
Gibson said the pilot suffered broken bones and compacted vertebrae and was eventually taken to Boston via Medflight after being treated at Nantucket Cottage Hospital Friday night. The condition of pilot and passenger at this time is unknown.
Gibson said a number of people witnessed the crash because the small rocket that deploys the parachute from the plane makes a distinct noise, and it happened in the area of the police barracks off Low Beach Road, where many regular and summer special police officers are housed.
The plane was taken to Nantucket Memorial Airport the next day and is being stored in a hangar on airport property, pending an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, which usually takes a full year to complete an investigation and issue a report.
Gibson said the pilot was attempting to make a visual landing, which can be tricky in bad weather, when the haze thickened and fog started to develop. He was offered the chance to make an instrument landing by air traffic controllers at Nantucket Memorial Airport, but he was not an instrument-qualified pilot and declined, said Gibson, who continued that the pilot decided to make an emergency landing and deployed the parachute.
Gibson also said he had looked at the planes flight path on an aircraft tracking website and it appeared the plane never came close to the airport, suggesting the foul weather was the major contributing factor to the crash.
Traffic into and out of the airport was halted until air-traffic controllers were assured the plane was on the ground.
The crash occurred about 20 minutes before a powerful thunderstorm swept over the island, further decreasing visibility.
Photos of N869CD accident from Nantucket ‘The Inquirer and Mirror’
Ouchie.