These private airplanes have a very strange safety feature that won a ‘greatest achievement’ award

If private airplanes are flying through the clouds and suddenly face an emergency – there’s nothing to worry about if your aircraft can deploy a parachute like a skydiver.

That’s exactly what the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) does.

This technology could be one of the biggest breakthroughs in aviation safety systems designed for Cirrus Aircraft’s light planes like the SR20, SR22, and SF50.

Given the success rate of the safety system, it became the first whole-plane ballistic parachute to be certified by the FAA in October 1998.

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Private airplanes with advanced safety features

Developed in collaboration with Ballistic Recovery Systems (BRS), CAPS uses a small rocket to pull out the parachute.

As of 2022, it was the only standard parachute used by an aviation company.

What makes this technology even more reliable is the speed of deployment – the parachutes open within seconds.

While the main goal of CAPS is to save the lives of pilots and passengers, it can also reduce the severity of a crash – sometimes preventing the total destruction of the plane.

Now, it’s quite unusual to achieve success on the first attempt.

However, the first plane to use CAPS landed safely without serious damage, making it a surprising and celebratory moment for everyone at Cirrus.

The technology was not added to the aircraft later on; instead, SR20 was built to feature this latest aviation technology.

Additionally, the plane also had a special wing design that helped prevent spins, which could be dangerous in the air.

CAPS has an impressive success rate

The efforts of the team at Cirrus finally paid off in 2018 when they won the Collier Trophy for the Vision Jet.

To date, CAPS has been used 126 times, with 107 successful parachute deployments.

A total of 220 people have been saved, with only one death.

Safety has always been the biggest priority in aviation.

Similar to CAPS, the A220 aircraft featured a secret cockpit hatch that allowed pilots to evacuate quickly if needed.

These advancements make us realize how far the aviation industry has come over the years.