An "over-confident" salesman intentionally put a Cirrus SR22 into an aggravated stall before he lost control of the airplane and had to pull the parachute handle according to a Australian Transport Safety Bureau report released this week. The salesman, also a flight instructor, told investigators he routinely flew a similar flight profile to demonstrate the aerodynamic and electronic safeguards built into the aircraft to prevent an out-of-control spin. On May 10 of this year, the aircraft beat all those systems and ended up in an unrecoverable spin.

A1Skinner wrote:So can a Cirrus not recover from a spin?

Cirrus engaged in an extensive flight test program to investigate the aircraft stall characteristics
and spin behaviour. The proper spin recovery procedure was found to be brisk movement of the
elevator control to the full down position. This was reported to be an unnatural control movement,
when the nose of the aircraft may already appear to the pilot to be pointing down sharply. Cirrus
determined that the probability of a typical general aviation pilot properly applying the spin
recovery controls was low. The procedure in the event of loss of control of the aircraft as stated in
the above extract of the POH is to activate the CAPS [parachute].

RanchPilot wrote:

A1Skinner wrote:So can a Cirrus not recover from a spin?

According to the official findings:

Cirrus engaged in an extensive flight test program to investigate the aircraft stall characteristics
and spin behaviour. The proper spin recovery procedure was found to be brisk movement of the
elevator control to the full down position. This was reported to be an unnatural control movement,
when the nose of the aircraft may already appear to the pilot to be pointing down sharply. Cirrus
determined that the probability of a typical general aviation pilot properly applying the spin
recovery controls was low. The procedure in the event of loss of control of the aircraft as stated in
the above extract of the POH is to activate the CAPS [parachute].

The SR22 Pilot Operating Handbook (POH) stated:
WARNING
In all cases, if the aircraft enters an unusual attitude from which recovery is not expected
before ground impact, immediate deployment of the CAPS is required. The minimum
demonstrated altitude loss for a CAPS deployment from a one-turn spin is 920 feet.
Activation at higher altitudes provides enhanced safety margins for parachute recoveries.
Do not waste time and altitude trying to recover from a spiral/spin before activating CAPS.
The aircraft is not approved for spins, and has not been tested or certified for spin recovery
characteristics. The only approved and demonstrated method of spin recovery is activation
of the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS). Because of this, if the aircraft 'departs
controlled flight,' the CAPS must be deployed.

While the stall characteristics of the aircraft make accidental entry into a spin extremely
unlikely, it is possible. Spin entry can be avoided by using good airmanship: coordinated
use of controls in turns, proper airspeed control following the recommendations of this
Handbook, and never abusing the flight controls with accelerated inputs when close to the
stall.

If, at the stall, the controls are misapplied and abused accelerated inputs are made to the
elevator, rudder and/or ailerons, an abrupt wing drop may be felt and a spiral or spin may
be entered. In some cases it may be difficult to determine if the aircraft has entered a spiral
or the beginning of a spin.

If time and altitude permit, determine whether the aircraft is in a recoverable spiral/incipient
spin or is unrecoverable and, therefore, has departed controlled flight.

DrifterDriver wrote:Haha I cant belive this made the news for you guys to!! Was all the talk here when it happened ofcourse.

For anyone wanting to give this guy some sort of credit, believe me he deserves none! Ok he was at 6000 feet..... But he was over 4000 foot mountains, he was also over a small township of houses surrounded by nothing but tiger country. And he ended up landing only 30m (90 feet ish) of 137000 volt high tension power lines.

What a twat!

A1Skinner wrote:He was only at 2000', so 3000 is worse??