The history of Cirrus chute pulls does not help because it appears that most of them were either recoverable conventionally, or were the result of nonexistent preflight activity.
Really? I know of several I would put into this class but a lot more that I wouldn't. I can cite many with an accident chain that could have been broken elsewhere but isn't that the case on most accidents? The penalty for one mistake shouldn't be death.
Most Cirrus pilots I have met seem unaffected by BRS in deciding to make a flight. I am more the exception. I admit that I now fly direct at night rather than following roads I can see. I also fly over low IFR and over inhospitable terrain. If you avoid flying with those conditions then feel free to throw stones. if you fly IFR over ceilings less than several thousand feet and do it without BRS then don't knock me for doing the same and feeling better having BRS. BTW, I have flown IFR without BRS and have no problem doing so. It is a risk I am willing to accept. I just feel better with the extra out.
The accident history of the SR22 is not out of line with planes of similar mission. What I have seen is a group of pilots who are more interested in getting to the golf course than in flying itself. They are often not members of COPA. This seems less about Cirrus marketing than about pilots who want the latest and best go anywhere (in their eyes) plane. They show up as the VFR pilots who flew into IMC. Nothing new here. Go back 30 years and the plane will be different but there will be a similar group of pilots.
COPA members have a much lower fatality rate. Whether that is because COPA promotes safe flight or because more safety minded pilots are attracted to COPA I don't know. Rick has the numbers.