I, along with the FAA, have provided First Responder training to over 200 firefighters and police officers in the past 2 years. I will be hosting the training again in October. The training centers around the "ballistic parachute" systems found on many modern aircraft. Deaths have been reported to first responders who did not know the proper way to disabale these systems after an incident. Hundreds of these aircraft are in the USA including 190 withing a 150 mile radius of my location in SW Ohio. The training is free and if it is available in your area, please provide it for your troups.
Look up the FAA website, faa.gov and check for your local FSDO (flight standards district office). Mine is in Cincinnati. They may or may not offer it. We were the first in the nation to provide this training.
I am an NFPA 1003 and FAA ARFF instructor, who has also taught many responders over my 17 years. I first offered the BPS - (ballistic parachute systems) or BRS - (ballistic recovery systems) to our department and many other departments in the region in 2006.
You are correct the system is dangerous to first responders. They are not only found on modern aircraft, (yes the Cirrus SR series aircraft they are standard equipment) but they have obtained a certificate to retrofit them into many older general aviation aircraft like Cessna and Piper's. They initially were designed for ultralight aircraft. And the company is now atempting to develop a larger system to recover large military aircraft.
To my knowledge though, I have not heard about first responder deaths from accidental discharge of these ballistic parachutes. When the company first started offering first responder training videos, they also offered a specialty wire cutter (option) for rescuers to disable the activation cable during a low impact crash that had not set off the system. I bought the cutters for our responders. But since then, they have re-developed their training program and subsequent video to basically state DO NOT TOUCH the system at all. They now offer a 24-7 readiness "Go Team" from the factory that will fly out to your accident site and dis-assemble the system for the first responders.
Thanks for the post. We provide mutual aid to an area with a small aircraft airport. I never knew about these systems until now. Very good information to know, and again, thanks R.Jack Wolf and FETC.
To me, THIS is what this site should be all about.
Great info, thanks. I will be visiting the fire house at the USAF Base in Springfield, OH on the 15th with 2 fire educators. The USAF is great on sharing info.
Please link some evidence that shows this. There has never been a reported 1st responder death from these systems in the National Fallen Firefighter death reports, NIOSH death reports, or the news media.
If you can provide links to reliable reports that first responders have died due to these systems, that's fine. Until you can provide some evidence, I'm filing this claim as:
a) unreliable,
b) unsupportable, and
c) SALES PITCH
Good information to add to the hazard list that are continually encountered by our first responders. But having said that - - I think what is more likely to be encountered in a plane crash that was equipped with the BRS, is that the pilot will have used the devise if at all possible and the aircraft might be entangled in the chute and it's lines. Once the device has been deployed there is no danger of an accidental firing.