Parachute Deployment Saves Another Pilot and Passenger in Their Airplane in California
September 20 2004 - 7:16PM
PR Newswire (US)
Parachute Deployment Saves Another Pilot and Passenger in Their
Airplane in California Pilot & His Wife Are 'Saves' 168 and 169
for the BRS System ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc. (OTC:BRSI) (BULLETIN BOARD:
BRSI) ( http://www.brsparachutes.com/ ) learned today of another
spectacular save of a certified aircraft, when a 65 year-old flight
instructor and his wife successfully deployed a BRS parachute
system late yesterday near Stockton, California. Pilot, William
Graham, 65, told authorities he and his wife Barbara were flying a
Cirrus SR22 from Redding to San Diego, California when his aircraft
encountered a problem at approximately 16,000 feet. Moments later,
Graham radioed that he had turned off the engine and deployed the
plane's on board emergency BRS parachute. The pilot and passenger
floated down safely, landing in a tree in a San Joaquin County
walnut orchard. After a frantic search and rescue, the Grahams were
spotted by local emergency response officials with the plane's
chute draped from some tree branches. Both Pilot and passenger were
able to walk away from the incident without apparently suffering
any injuries to themselves and only minor damage to their plane.
BRS (Ballistic Recovery Systems) is a South St. Paul,
Minnesota-based company that designs, manufactures and distributes
whole aircraft emergency parachute systems for use on general
aviation and recreational aircraft. Mark Thomas, President &
CEO of BRS was thrilled to hear the news of this happy ending, and
reiterated that until more airplanes are equipped with BRS systems,
we won't rest easy. "Improving aviation safety is the prime
objective of BRS and saving lives is our most gratifying
accomplishment," added Thomas. "Our system works, and we want to
continue to do our part to make aviation safer for everyone who
wants to fly." Since the early 1980's, BRS has delivered over
19,000 parachute systems to aircraft owners around the world
including over 1500 systems on certified aircraft like the Cirrus
Design aircraft manufactured in Duluth, Minnesota. Actual
documented uses of these systems are credited with saving the lives
of 169 people. In April of 2004, BRS learned of two deployments in
Cirrus aircraft within 36 hours of each other. On Saturday, April
10th a Ft. Lauderdale pilot deployed his plane's BRS parachute
system landing in a Cypress grove in North Lauderdale, Florida.
Also, on April 8th flying over the rugged mountains in British
Columbia, a grandfather, his grandson and two family friends
encountered trouble but were able to recover and land safely after
deploying a BRS parachute. In July, the FAA certified BRS parachute
system for installation on Cessna 182 models of aircraft. In
September, BRS was named one of Minnesota's Fastest Growing
Technology companies, based on revenue growth over the last five
years. DATASOURCE: Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc. CONTACT: Robb
Leer, +1-612-701-0608, or Mark Thomas, +1-651-457-7491, both for
Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc., or Web site:
http://www.brsparachutes.com/
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