Another Day, Another Cirrus Parachute Save

[VWGhiaBob]

It happened again...another failed Cirrus engine, parachute pull, and pilot plus passenger walked away:

http://www.wcvb.com/news/small-plane-crashes-near-burlington-mall/26440712#!X6fMW

Did the parachute save their lives? Who knows. One thing's for sure for me: if I ever lose an engine, I hope I'm in a Cirrus (or any other plane with a BRS parachute).

 

[Jim Logajan]

Look at the distance from the point of impact to the airport in this google earth photo. You wanna tell me she couldn't make the field ????? Really ????

She said in her emergency call she couldn't make the runway. Everyone on board the plane came out alive. I don't see the problem that is causing you such emotional upset.

As to making the field - looks to be about 15k ft between your two markers, guesstimating using the length of the KBED runways. She was on approach to KBED. Cirrus SR22 seems to have a glide ratio of 9:1 or thereabouts. So she would need to be at least 1700 ft AGL to hit the ground at the marker placed at the end of the runway from the other marker. So do you think she would be 1700 AGL or greater above the parachute landing point, or closer to pattern altitude?

So what did you come up with when you computed the glide range possibilities?