Why aren't planes equipped with huge parachutes?

And the alternative is to land in the Arctic or Antarctic, deserts or any remote areas, power lines, large buildings or roads at 500mph inside of a tin can. I'll take my chances with the parachute.

kod3200 wrote:

everyone grabs their chute and are ushered out the side of the plane to safely deploy their parachute and not die in a tragic firey accident.

Ever notice how long it takes for you to exit the plane once they've opened the doors at the terminal?

How long would it take to get 200+ people out the door of a plane that is likely plummeting to the Earth in a non-horizontal orientation?

If the plane were flying POSE, presumably deploying the parachute(s) would enable it to continue flying on to its destination even without any working engines. It just might take a little longer.

Because when it's time to go,it's time.

Seriously if MH370 had a chute we'd have found it months ago.

Cirrus Aircraft makes an extremely popular general aviation aircraft (SR20 and now SR 22) that has a parachute and is not an ultralight. According to Cirrus, the SR22 has been the best selling four seater for a decade.

Do an internet search for "CIrrus Airframe Parachute System"

kod3200 wrote:

I read this thread and my initial thought was parachutes for every passenger, not the entire plane itself (thats retarded). Just a parachute stuffed under every seat or in the overhead, and when the planes engines fail or someting happens in the air, everyone grabs their chute and are ushered out the side of the plane to safely deploy their parachute and not die in a tragic firey accident. Remember when that pilot had to land his plane full of passengers in the Hudson? that was bad@ss, but how much more convenient would it have been if everyone just parachuted out of their and just let the plane crash into some uninhabited area? Idk, just a thought.

I have a vision of some hundreds of passengers, all different ages and sizes, of both sexes, all calmly putting on their parachutes and then, without panicking, serenely lining up at the exits and then one by one jumping into space.

With the flight attendants as jumpmasters.

That’s assuming of course, the plane isn’t heading for the earth at about the speed of sound.

I’m not sure, but I seem to recall that the most dangerous period for aircrafts accidents is when taking off or landing.

How much is a Premium Economy ticket to London?

Mr. Obvious wrote:

aerofoil wrote:

Not what you were after but many military aircraft are equipped with drag chutes that is used to slow after touchdown Even planes as bigg as the BUFF and as fast as F16s

Drag chutes are an entirely different proposition

Which was made obvious when I typed "Not what you were after but..."

Yeah, that wasn't a "just throw on a chute and everyone will live problem solved" suggestion, its just better than certain death. If a planes falling out of the sky and you're inside and someone hands you a parachute, are you gonna say no thanks I'm good and list all of the reasons you just said?

kod3200 wrote:

If a planes falling out of the sky and you're inside and someone hands you a parachute, are you gonna say no thanks I'm good and list all of the reasons you just said?

And just what kind of scenario are you envisioning where a plane is falling out of the sky and 'someone' has the capability to hand you a parachute (to say nothing of you being able to put it on and line up to jump out of an open door)?

You do realize that a plane falling out of the sky is not as smooth a ride as cruising at 38,000 feet?

This is perfect

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20131223-should-planes-have-parachutes

Somebody's parachute didn't open while diving into the shallow end of the gene pool.

Hingle McCringleberry wrote:

Seems logical to me

Actually, they are. They just don't tell anybody about them because they are concerned with possible legal actions.

Flying high wrote:

If the plane were flying POSE, presumably deploying the parachute(s) would enable it to continue flying on to its destination even without any working engines. It just might take a little longer.

You are onto something there! Just keep lowering the nose and endlessly accelerate with no work. Best application of POSE yet.

would it really help? wrote:

Seems like the chute would only help in a very small minority of cases, since most accidents occur on takeoff or landing.

Just build all the airports at the edge of a high cliff, or on top of a skyscraper.

What if when a commercial airliner deploys its parachute, the wings, nose, tail sections and all other extraneous parts of the plane disengage from the main cabin? Then, the parachute could be much smaller due to the weight it is carrying is much smaller. Kind of like some spacecrafts upon re-entry.

You all seem to miss the point here:

IN WHICH CASE exactly does an airplane need a parachute?

o Engine failure of all 2 (4) engines simultaneously?

Much safer to land at the nearest airport.

o CFIT? Parachute doesn't help.

o Structural failure of wings?

Doesn't happen anymore in passenger planes.

Private planes have a parachute, because i't easier to lose control over it.

Okay, maybe in the cases where a plane disappears without a trace, a parachute MAY have been helpful. If it only happens every twenty years, it isn't worth the cost.

Thats like seatbelts in trains or buses. You live with the risk, because it's tolerable small.