I actually wonder whether the shute is more of a comfort zone for passengers in the same way as a second engine on a light twin?
Take a typical scenario. A pilot takes his wife and kids for a flight. If anything happens to him unlike in a car where he hits the brakes and 2 seconds later is parked up on the hardshoulder, In a plane he maybe IMC at altitude and 60 miles from the nearest airport.
What do his family do? At least with the chute they have an option without they die.
Mid air collision the same.
At night over mountains the same.
Serious icing the same.
The chute should be a last resort for a serious situation.
The trouble with a Chute is the false sense of security it instills in pilots. False sense of security means that they will fly in conditions which are out of their ability because they think that if it all goes pear shaped all they have to do is pull the chute.
Something else I was told is that deploying the chute over water is a killer or paryliser. The undercarriage is an integral part of the vertical speed cushion.ie it takes up a lot of the vertical speed impact as do the seats.
Land in water and the the undercarriage impact absorbtion is non existant so you are unlikely to ever walk away again.
Pace