Air Safety !

A group of people attending " Open House " inspections of homes for sale in Lawson, in the Blue Mountains were spectators to amazing sights on Saturday.    They looked up when a light aircraft passing far overhead emitted alarming engine sounds and several small explosions.  The engine stopped - and it began to fall from the sky.

Suddenly an immense parachute ejected from the rear of the plane and arrested the fall, and the plane descended slowly and safely, landing in the front yard of a residents home.   The three occupants of this four seater plane escaped what could only be termed a " crash " virtually uninjured.

We are well aware of parachutes designed for individuals and these were worn by fighter pilots during the second world war, but the extension of fitting a parachute to an aircraft is something new.   It has been developed by a company names " Cirrus " - and this very aircraft was on a sales mission to Australia when this accident occurred.

This event was widely covered by the media and it has stirred conjecture in aviation circles.  It seems inevitable that there will be pressure to make this standard equipment on all light aircraft, but many old hands urge caution.   The areas where it offers maximum protection are limited, and in the vast majority of crashes it would be of little help - and it tends to triple the cost of aircraft fitted with this safety device.

It can be most helpful when an aircraft is flying at great height over terrain that offers no safe landing spots - and suffers engine failure.  Deploying the parachute allows the plane to float to the ground rather than crash at high speed - usually with fatal results.    The majority of crashes occur at take off or landing, when height prevents the use of a parachute, or in heavy cloud when a lack of navigation results in a crash into an unexpected obstacle.   It is the usual equation of risk and cost - and the buyers of aircraft must make their own evaluation.

For the company that has developed this safety feature, this weekends event must seem the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.    The ubiquitous smartphones of spectators captured the graceful descent and the uninjured passengers - and every form of media in Australia gave it prominence in their newscasts.  That sort of publicity would have to be worth millions of dollars - and it was all positive.    The parachute worked perfectly - and it seems inevitable at least some Australian buyers will opt for this option.