MJ
PPLs are a mixed bag! some are excellent some are awful some lie somewhere inbetween.
Yet aircraft accidents are so final and tragic events for the occupants when something does go wrong.
The Chute does add a lifesaving option that is not in dispute with me!
Seeing the video promoting the chute above I noted that a fair few chute pulls were in icing or loss of control in cloud and failure to recover.
Both are areas these pilots should not have been ie out of the pilot or aircraft limits! Whether they were lacking currency or held ratings maybe they should not hold is irrelevant! They should not have been there.
That makes me question the false security the chute gives luring pilots into situations they cannot handle.
As stated I would not be comfortable flying at night in a SEP but know in my heart that I would feel a lot more comfortable doing so with a chuted aircraft!
So we have to be cautious that the chute does not create the very accidents it saves purely by being there.
The rest other than mid airs or pilot incapacitation should be more to do with training but we are still faced with the fact that the chute is a major addition to safety. If used correctly it is a wonderful thing to have.
Reading an accident like this one it beggars belief that such an incompetent pilot should be flying in those conditions but they do!
The Chute saved the fool from himself and hopefully may make him reappraise himself and learn from it.
As such I support the use of the chute but still have reservations on when it should be used and the fact that you have it should not tempt you into anything you would not do in a conventional aircraft without a get out of jail for free card.
Pace