Aircraft fall out of the sky because the engine stops, they structurally fail, they enter a spin from which the pilot cannot recover, they pick up enough ice or encounter the most severe weather. All these situations are life threatening. It is a fine degree of judgement when to throw in the towel.
If the engine stops you have one course - land. With any luck the outcome should be good - unless of course it is night, there is a low base, or the terrain is rugged. In those circumstances the chances of success are less favourable. Pilots aren’t taught to recover from spins these days. Spins aren’t a problem - unless it is your first - which is more than likely these days. Pushing on or retreating from ice and severe weather is a calculated risk. If things have got that bad you need a little luck however much of a sky God you believe yourself to be.
Pilots make mistakes - the number of hours they have or the amount of experience they have makes them no more or less immune, with any luck with experience they just make fewer mistakes. However, we all have to cut our teeth. Pilots aren’t born sky Gods. This means they are more susceptible to making mistakes during their early years. No one said flying is without risk. No one said in single pilot “sport” flying you would be wrapped in cotton wool.
To be blunt SN3Guppy that is the real issue with your posts - your hours and commercial experience long belie any understanding of real world flying for the average private pilot. As I indicated earlier private pilots flying for pleasure make mistakes, they make errors of judgement. They may well manage to get themselves into a spin from which they are unable and unprepared to attempt a recovery, they demonstrably make the mistake time and time again of entering IMC when not qualified to do so, and they take on weather beyond their and their aircrafts ability.
As but one example you wax lyrical about pre-flight checks. However, you appear blind to the pre-flight check most pilots undertake. In that you make the worst of assumptions - the vast majority of GA pilots do not complete an adequate pre flight check.
It is a bit like climbing - you could climb with a rope, or you could chose to free climb. Most opt for the rope, not because they expect to fall, not because they intentionally embark on a pitch knowing it to be beyond their ability, but because they don’t want to pay for their mistakes with their lives.
The chute gives them a second chance - that is it - it is not that complicated. It is no more a gimmick than a rope. It is no more a gimmick that a second engine which wasn’t put there to give you more performance, but to give you a second chance when the first engine fails.
Last edited by Fuji Abound; 14th Dec 2008 at 22:34.