If it turned out the pilot knew there was a problem, then why didn't he deploy the parachute? That is the frustrating aspect to me.
It's frustrating to all. The handles don't get pulled often enough, and there has been quite a bit of study and discussion about it over the years.
There is a minimum demonstrated deployment altitude, but the head of BRS has pointed out before that even if the thing doesn't fully deploy, it's at the very least a huge amount of centerline drag in aircraft that don't fire the rockets out sideways, which will certainly slow an impact and lower the forces involved exponentially.
A significant complication with CFIT accidents is that the pilot at no time thinks they're out of control.
Out of control, pull the handle. No one disagrees with that statement.
The concept here to me that seems to stand out is that pilots flying aircraft with BRS capability need to make a small but critical change in thought process.
And I think it needs to go like this:
Anytime the altitude or location of the aircraft is in doubt below [insert arbitrary number here] altitude in IMC, the aircraft must be considered to be out of the pilot's control.
Out of control, pull the handle. Now.
We can all second-guess you later when you're alive sitting in the FBO talking to us. Seriously.
IMC, to me, takes this thought process change. I'll explain why.
If the aircraft is wildly pitching, banking and yawing, we instinctively call that "out of control" in VMC if we don't know how to correct it. Most of us would pull the handle.
IMC, if the instruments are showing a similar mess. We also consider that "out of control" and pull the handle. No problem there.
But many pilots don't consider being lost on an approach and not really knowing where the aircraft is in space or more importantly, in height over terrain, an "out of control" condition.
It is. You aren't in control.
If you don't know where you are IMC, you're not truly in control of the aircraft...
At high altitude, you may have some free time to figure it out. It should be trained at high altitude as "out of control with a deferring factor on pulling the chute". Instructors can do this one safely. Get the student to say, "Out of control", reach for the cover on the handle, and then say "deferring with altitude" and then find themselves.
And at low altitude, it's simply "out of control, no altitude deferral, pull the chute".
That's my admittedly amateur take on one possible change to training to get the brain operating in the proper frame of reference.
"Out of control" doesn't need to mean "violent maneuvers". It means you aren't in control of your location in space and time right now.
Out of control means you pull the handle, unless you have a darn good reason not to. That darn good reason should include altitude as the first possible deferral.
Except for this one. Maybe it will continue correctly.
