Catastrophic Failure Safety Systems
 

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?

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.:(

.. 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 ...

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?

For an interesting cross-section of views from (mainly American) pilots, have a look at this AvWeb "question of the week" page

FFF
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