Grossklaus was towing hang gliders using his
Silent Racer trike when another pilot suddenly turned in his direction. In
an attempt to avoid a midair collision that would have endangered both
pilots, Grossklaus was forced to make a rapid maneuver that upset his
aircraft. His Silent Racer was flipped violently enough to cause
structural failure. "His wing totally collapsed," said Schubert, who added
that Grossklaus is the only human in history to have used his BRS
rocket-deployed emergency parachute twice from the same aircraft.
BRS designs, manufactures, and markets ballistic parachute systems that
lower aircraft to the ground in the event of an in-flight emergency.
Through over 20 years in business, the company has delivered more than
15,000 parachute systems for use on certified and recreational aircraft.
So far, the company has recorded over 138 saves that represent 117 airborne
incidents with 21 such incidents involving two persons on board the
aircraft. The latest two saves are related below.
On June 23, Wallace Clark deployed his BRS parachute, becoming save
number 136 on the growing list of saves recorded by the South St. Paul,
Minnesota-based company. Clark's engine developed problems shortly after
takeoff from a tree-lined airport in Alabama. With the airfield a quarter
mile behind him and no optional landing areas, Clark deployed his BRS from
only 200 feet above the ground. He landed in wood so dense that it gook 6
hours to reach the plane when he and friends went to extract the mostly
undamaged Hurricane.
And while America celebrated its annual July 4th Independence Day, two
more people were spared their lives when the pilot had to deploy his BRS
parachute after the wing failed on a Murphy Renegade, a Canadian biplane
design. Bernd Vierling and a passenger flew their Renegade in Germany when
a high-G maneuver caused an interwing strut to fail, rendering the
aircraft unflyable. From 1,200 feet, the BRS lowered aircraft and
occupants. |
