Catastrophic Failure Safety Systems

[DeepC]

Following a thread on Rotorheads........

Apart from ejector seats in military hardware why do no civil aircraft have systems that cope with a catastrophic failure?

By this I mean something like a large emergency paracute that will deploy in the event of a catastrophic failure in a small helicopter or small aeroplane.

In a large airliner it might be more of a challenge but surely with current technical knowhow it must be a possibility. (single use rocket assisted cushioning, airbags, fuselage held together with kevlar netting sandwiched within the fuselage structure)

Any ideas?

[BlueEagle]

Unfortunately the answer to the question, 'Why are these safety systems not fitted?' is nothing more than cost.

To carry the extra safety systems creates a weight penalty that can either be accepted or overcome by a bigger engine and a stronger airframe, either way it is down to money.:(

[john_tullamarine]

.. and why the statistical analyses of failure modes plays a fair part of the design and certification process. If the game runs according to Hoyle then the probability of a catastrophic failure is sufficiently low that we really ought not to lose too much sleep over the risk ...

As the cynic would say ... I am more than relieved enough to have made it to the airport in one piece ...

[Danza]

Has the Cirrus SR20 actually been deployed in an emergency yet?, if it has can anyone direct me to a report/post about it.

On a similar theme does anyone/would anyone carry a normal personal chute in case of dire emergency? (Fog bound at night with low fuel, oh and lost), and how easy would it be to bail out of say 152/172, piper etc?

[FlyingForFun]

For an interesting cross-section of views from (mainly American) pilots, have a look at this AvWeb "question of the week" page (http://www.avweb.com/qotw/qotwform.cgi?0047)

FFF
----------------