Ballistic Recovery Systems

NASA photo series showing the CAPS deployment in action.

Ballistic Recovery Systems (commonly BRS) is a company that was formed in 1980 by Boris Popov after he survived a 400 foot fall in a partly collapsed hang glider in 1975. Boris invented a parachute system which would lower a whole light airplane to the ground relatively safely for the people inside, though typically with moderate structural damage to the aircraft when it landed. It could be used in the event of loss of control, failure of the aircraft structure, or other in-flight emergencies.

Components

A solid-fuel rocket is used to pull the parachute out from its housing and deploy the canopy fully within seconds. Typically on ultralight installations the rocket is mounted on the parachute container. On larger aircraft installations the rocket may be remotely mounted.

Over the years the BRS systems employed have been improved and updated and the current version is the BRS-5. This has a separate rocket installation that can be removed from the parachute so the parachute can be sent for re-packing without the problems of trying to ship the rocket as well. Typically the parachute requires repacking every six years and the rocket requires replacing every 12 years.

Rescues Completed

The first ballistic recovery parachutes were on the market in 1982, and the first deployment was in 1983. Between then and November 2006, 198 people were aboard approximately 150 + aircraft which used BRS parachutes; most of whose lives were presumably saved by those parachute deployments.

Aircraft Supported

BRS Models are available for:

• The whole line of Cirrus Design light aircraft, known as the Cirrus Aircraft Parachute System
• Cessna 172, Cessna 182
• Symphony SA-160
• Light airplanes up to 1,800 lb weight (installation not FAA certified)
• A wide variety of Ultralight aircraft (installation not FAA certified)
• A wide variety of Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) Standard equipment on Flight Design CT.

Cirrus Aircraft Parachute System (CAPS)

The CAPS is a BRS system designed specifically for Cirrus Designs line of light aircraft including the SRV, SR20 and SR22. As in other BRS systems a solid-fuel rocket, housed in the aft fuselage, is used to pull the parachute out from its housing and deploy the canopy full within seconds. The goal of employing this system is the survival of the crew and passengers and not necessarily the prevention of damage to the airframe.

Since the landing gear and firewall are part of the structure designed to be crushed for energy absorption during impact after parachute deploy, Cirrus originally thought that the airframe would be damaged beyond repair on impact. But the first aircraft to deploy (N1223S) landed in mesquite and was not badly damaged. Cirrus bought the airframe back, repaired it, and used it as a demo plane. It was eventually sold to another owner who destroyed it in a crash short of the runway. Several of the aircraft involved in CAPS deploys have been put back into service, with the exception of those that landed in the water.

CAPS Deployments

As of 2006, the CAPS has been deployed twelve times (some still under investigation):

1. October 2002, Texas: detached aileron (NTSB report)
2. April 2003, British Columbia: loss of control in turbulence (aircraft C-GEMC), 4 uninjured
3. April 2004, Florida: instrument failure in IFR conditions, 1 uninjured (NTSB report)
4. September 2004, California: loss of control in high-altitude climb above clouds, 2 uninjured (NTSB report)
5. January 2005, California: parachute deployed above design limits, pilot fatality (unknown if intentionally activated) (NTSB Preliminary Report)
6. June 2005, New York: pilot incapacitated from undiagnosed brain tumor, 1 injured (NTSB report)
7. January 2006, Alabama: loss of control after pilot flew into icing, 3 uninjured (NTSB report)
8. February 2006, South Dakota: pilot reported disorientation, 2 uninjured
9. August 2006, Indiana: parachute deployed three miles from departure end of runway, aircraft landed in retention pond, parachute was deployed by a passenger because the pilot had fainted, pilot fatality, 3 passengers injured NSTB Preliminary Report, [1]
10. September 2006, Colorado: pilot reported icing over mountains (unknown if intentionally activated), 2 fatalities NSTB Preliminary Report
11. September 2006, Jamaica: passenger activated parachute under unknown circumstances, 4 uninjured
12. October 2006, Arizona: investigation underway, 4 fatalities NSTB Preliminary Report

External links

• BRS Parachutes homepage
• Cirrus Design homepage
• 2004 Flying magazine article and sidebar
• avweb.com news article about fourth deployment
• Pilot's account of sixth deployment