Light aircraft manufacturer Cirrus Design is to modify the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) installed on 3,300 in-service SR20 and SR22 single-engined aircraft.
The move follows a serious accident in Australia which revealed problems with the mechanism that connects the parachute to the deployment rocket. Cirrus has now issued a service bulletin calling for all owners to change the CAPS pickup collar mounted to the launch tube and connected to the canopy of the parachute. The parachute deploys when a lip at the bottom of the rocket captures the collar at the top of the launch tube.
In the 5 February accident near Sydney, the pilot and passenger of an SR22 tried to land on a highway after engine failure. Instead, they deployed the aircraft parachute system when it became clear there was too much traffic, says Dale Klapmeier, Cirrus Design executive vice president and co-founder. The parachute failed to deploy correctly because the rocket was unbalanced and “did not fire straight,” says Klapmeier. The pilot then made a forced landing next to the highway.
The US National Transportation Safety Board’s reports that the pilot and passenger were seriously injured in the accident and that the aircraft was “substantially” damaged. The accident is being investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
The company says it will have at least one mechanic in each of its 145 service centres worldwide trained by next week to change the suspect hardware.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
