Z06 C5 wrote:About 8 months ago in Dallas, A CFI and a student were killed in a Tecnam. A control surface failure. It appears that a mechanic left a large flashlight in the tail. This became wedged in with the elevator in the down postion. A BRS would have saved them, better to have it and never use it. There could be times like this when you are unable to control the plane to make an emergency landing.
The idea of not having one because of possibilty of an onboard fire setting it off. Is a little silly. If the fire is hot enough to set it off, then you are already burned, in which case the BRS will not be necassary because you are already dead.
I don't think you understand what I'm saying about the fire. Lets say you botch a landing, and it ends up with a bent airplane. Fire ensues. You're probably hurt, with a burning airplane now. Some ARFF may not respond as quickly or as closely to the airplane, as they can't ensure their safety due to the possibility of a large pyrotechnic display right in front of them.
And there is no way to tell that BRS would have saved the guys in that Tecnam. Might it have helped, sure. People make it sound like landing with the BRS is just a gentle landing. Its not like that at all, you will probably get hurt when it happens.
Listen, I'm not saying that people shouldn't have the BRS flat out. I'm saying people give the system too much credit for situations that are so rare that the usefulness of the system is nearly nil. The BRS brings out the dumb in some pilots, that's for sure. I'd rather have the 35 pounds of useful load, than a 10 year parachute and rocket.