A family in California went up in a small propeller plane last Friday only to have the power cut out shortly after takeoff. They had a crash landing, but everyone, including a 2 year old walked away with minor scratches and bruises. That’s because there was a parachute for the entire plane. The pilot was able to deploy the giant parachute and guide the plane down to a much more gentle crash landing.
I’d never heard of parachutes for entire planes. Seems like it would be a no brainer, but after researching, I found that only ONE company provides parachutes for their planes. That’d be Cirrus planes. Other companies offer to outfit your plane with a parachute, but they cost thousands of dollars. A simple Cessna plane will run about $14,000 for a whole plane parachute.
I found a story out of Denver from 2021 where a couple of small planes collided. One was a Cirrus that deployed a chute and the 2 people inside were unharmed even though part of the plane broke off up in the air. It also said that hundreds of people have been saved by these chutes. However, that also makes me think about how only a small percentage of planes have the chutes. Then I wonder how many small planes are crashing to begin with. It kind of made me feel afraid to leave my house. Of course, inside wouldn’t be all that safe either.
Here’s a similar story from years back, but it gives you a look at a plane being saved by one of these chutes.