Do you want to know why today's plane crash was funny...or ironic?

[Squatch]

Please, somebody ask me.

[MrCoffee]

1. So, Squatch, why was today's plane crash funny...or ironic?

[Squatch]

2. Thanks. Because this was the plane he was flying:

[MrCoffee]

3. that joke went over my head/the irony is lost on me. n/t

[Squatch]

4. This plane is equipped, as a standard feature, with one of these

[MrCoffee]

5. is that a Plane-A-Chute??

that's the most bad ass thing i've ever seen!

[lizziegrace]

7. My father's a private pilot

he says the chutes really work. Go figure...

[Dangerously Amused]

8. I don't understand how that would have helped him over the city.

Over the desert as in the photo, yeah. But in the city he was going to crash into something/someone either with that chute or without it, right?

[lizziegrace]

9. You're right

the chutes are definitely meant to be used in specific situations. I don't think downtown Manhatten was one of them.

[Squatch]

10. Here's the specific situation to use the chute: WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO CRASH

[lizziegrace]

11. No one knows what was going on in the cockpit.

It's impossible to second-guess the pilot's actions and motives at this time. We may never know why he didn't pull that chute.

I'll wait for the NTSB report and the FAA findings.

[Squatch]

12. I know what WASN'T happening.

He wasn't activating the CAPS chute.

Why else would one buy a Cirrus?

[lizziegrace]

14. I don't know

they're new, they're equipped with a chute... So why are Cessnas still selling?

Why are you so certain he was in a position to do so. Maybe he was incapacitated somehow. I'd rather pass judgement when the facts are in.

[Squatch]

17. Ummm...he was the pilot. He was in the PERFECT position to

activate the CAPS.

"Why are you so certain he was in a position to do so"

Usually, the guy in the front seat has access to all the controls.

[lizziegrace]

19. Are you a pilot? n/t

[Squatch]

20. As a matter of fact, I am.

I've been flying small airplanes since 1996.

[lizziegrace]

21. I've been flying with my father since 1966

Single engine, 2-6 seaters. I would never second-guess the cirumstances of a crash if I weren't in that cockpit myself. Just as I would never second guess someone's reactions in a car accident.

I'm done. Go play with someone else.

[Squatch]

23. So, what you're telling me is that YOU didn't do the ACTUAL flying?

Your father did.

Like anybody would berate a car driver for dying in an accident in which he did not use a seatbelt, I would also berate a PIC for not using all on-board safety equipment to prevent/minimize a crash.

The pilot screwed up and now a number of people, him included, are dead.

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Squatch]

27. I've flown since I was about 6 months old.

I'm pretty sure that the pilot was very experienced, and somehow his skill osmotically seeped into my brain.

I'm damn near too poor to maintain my ticket, but when flying's a passion, you do everything you can to get in a cockpit.

Arrogance has every place in the cockpit. When you are flying, you are in COMMAND of that aircraft and guard that command with contempt.

The attitude I have toward flying is: FLY THE DAMNED AIRCRAFT. If the thing has a parachute and it's the last thing between you and a fiery wreck on the 34th floor of an apartment building, well you should really weigh the options, think about using the parachute or not, keep your arrogance in check...BOOOOM!!!...oh, you're fucking dead! You just killed yourself and some occupants of the building. And, your PARACHUTE is still nicely tucked away in its original container.

[Dangerously Amused]

16. Would pulling the chute have made him not crash into something?

Sorry but I just really don't understand the premise.

[Squatch]

18. No chute...plane go really, really fast. Chute, plane go much slower.

Really, really fast plane: big BOOM!

Slow plane: little boom.

[Dangerously Amused]

22. Thanks for explaining it in a way my tiny cranium could process.

I heard an eyewitness say he was flying at a low altitude. Do you have to be flying at a certain altitude to open the chute in order for it to function properly? And was this pilot flying at least at that altitude?

[Squatch]

24. Look, this is not a difficult concept to process.

One of the main selling points of the Cirrus SR-20 is that it has a parachute. Even if it's not fully deployed, it will still slow the aircraft down, POSSIBLY to a point where the occupants of the aircraft or the building are not killed.

[Dangerously Amused]

26. Well, I'm not too bright so even simple concepts are difficult for me.

So, um... does the fact that you don't know whether the chute could have been fully deployed and if so, whether or not it would have slowed the aircraft down to the point where it POSSIBLY could have spared any lives, make the crash less funny/ironic?

[Squatch]

28. Nope, still pretty damned funny/ironic. I nominate for a Darwin Award.

[Dangerously Amused]

31. At least you aren't rushing to judgment before you have all the facts.

Perhaps you should contact the NTSB and the FAA with your comprehensive findings of fact. Be a good American and save them a lot of time and effort, you know? I'll bet they'd like hearing from you.

[Squatch]

34. First question out of the NTSB investigator's mouth.

Incident responder: A small aircraft, probably an SR-20 impacted an upper Eastside building.

NTSB: Was the parachute deployed?

[Dangerously Amused]

39. Could you cite your source for that please?

Or are you just presuming?

[laugle]

29. Are you having a

bad day???? Need some hugs....just curious.....

[av8rdave]

30. An emergency airframe paracute will NOT protect you or the plane

from a forward collision with anything.

[Squatch]

32. Well, damn...I wish I could use this incident to refute your premise...

but I can't, seeing as how the chute was never deployed.

[av8rdave]

33. That chute only helps in a powerplant failure or a structural failure

won't do anything but provide fabric to cover your body if you're going to collide with something.

[Squatch]

35. "collide with something"

Like terrain or buildings, perhaps?

Not only does this aircraft have CAPS, it also has (according to the Cirrus website)

"TAWS (Terrain Awareness Warning System), now a standard installation on all CIRRUS SRV, SR20 and SR22 aircraft, helps keep you clear of terrain and obstacles while SKYWATCH™ alerts you to airborne traffic. E-TAWS (Enhanced Terrain Avoidance Warning System) is also available complete with aural warning as an optional additional safety feature."

Now, say you're having an emergency...like you're about to hit a building after ignoring TAWS blaring in your ear. Would you consider deploying the CAPS? After all, Cirrus says it's to:

"The parachute system is designed to protect occupants in the event of an emergency by lowering the aircraft to the ground after deployment."

Furthermore:

"The final impact of a textbook deployment, comparable to jumping off a 10 foot ladder, is absorbed by the specialized landing gear, a roll cage and Cirrus Energy Absorbing Technology (CEAT) seats."

Yeah...the CAPS "only helps in a powerplant failure or a structural failure"

Like I said...fly the damned airplane.

[av8rdave]

37. You're right about "fly the airplane..." however....

CAPS or EGPWS has terrain info in it's database. Will not usually include man made objects in a congested area.

We won't know for some time what actually happened.

[Squatch]

40. "Congested area"

Does flying below the tops of New York City buildings constitute a "Congested Area"

[av8rdave]

41. It would, although nobody knows yet

if they were flying below the tops of buildings intentionally...they may have been completely legal before running into trouble of some kind.

[bertha katzenengel]

38. And this is the plane my dad built, and flies. Would it be funny if he

crashed & lost his life? I don't get this at all. Not even with your follow ups.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

6. HOW FUNNY OR IRONIC WAS IT?!

[bigwillq]

13. I don't think there was anything funny

about it.

Sorry that I don't have a sense of humor at the moment.

[Squatch]

15. No need to apologize.

[qnr]

36. Personally, I think he was too concerned with trying to avoid hitting

and possibly killing anyone else to worry about a chute in such a situation. When I was younger, I watched a traffic helicopter pull some pretty weird maneuvers when it was going down, which were all in an effort to avoid populated buildings.

While it might have had time to slow the plane down, it definitely would have impacted control in the canyons of Manhattan, immediately after release. Granted, I'm not a pilot, but that is my gut feeling.

[Dangerously Amused]

42. Kick, because I am still hoping the OP will provide requested information:

1. How high was the aircraft at the time of the failure? Was it at least 2,000 feet?

"Cirrus Design Corporation recommends that the CAPS deployment occur at an altitude of 2,000 feet agl or higher, wings level attitude, fuel, mixture, throttle and magnetos in the OFF position, seatbelts tight, battery and alternator master switches in the OFF position."

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20021008X05290&ntsbno=FTW03LA005&akey=1



2. What is OP's source for the information referenced in posts 34 and 39?



And I have a third question:



3. Was the parachute in proper working order at the time of the incident?


"If all else fails... pull the parachute. Unfortunately, as of July 2005 all of the folks who actually needed the parachute to save their lives are in fact dead. The previously mentioned owners in New York who got into a spin, for example. Either the 'chute didn't work or they couldn't get it to deploy. On February 6, 2005, an SR22 pilot crossing the Sierra reported having trouble with ice (NTSB ID: LAX05FA088), despite the fact that his plane was equipped with the TKS ice protection option. He pulled the parachute, but was apparently going too fast at the time, which resulted in the cords ripping out of the airplane and the plane and pilot slamming into a mountainside."

http://philip.greenspun.com/flying/cirrus-sr20



Please OP, enlighten the simple-minded.

[cwydro]

43. I understood

that he was WAY below 2000 feet.

[ThomCat]

44. This is just a mean, ugly thread.

People are dead. There is nothing funny or ironic about it. It's an accident and a tragedy.

Maybe the pilot thought that the deploying the parachute would have made it impossible for him to avoid buildings, and maybe that is what he was trying (unsuccessfully) to do. The drag would certainly have reduced his ability to handle the plane.

We have to assume that the pilot did the best he could, and had reasons for his decisions. Sometimes it isn't good enough and the the decisions are wrong, but that's what makes it a tragedy. It's still not funny or ironic.
x(

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

45. I can't believe this thread hasn't been scrubbed.

Just like I can't believe people can find a plane crashing into a building funny or ironic.

[terrya]

46. Locking

Time to lock