Cirrus pilot safe after Sunday chute deploy

By John Croft

The pilot of a Cirrus SR22 is safe after deploying the aircraft’s Cirrus airframe parachute system (CAPS) after departure from a suburban Maryland airport Sunday afternoon.

According to local media and preliminary US Federal Aviation Administration reports, the pilot, flying alone, had reported mechanical trouble after takeoff from the Montgomery County Airpark and was attempting to return to the airport when he deployed the 17m (55ft) diameter ballistic chute.

N213CP, manufactured in 2008, landed on a residential street approximately 0.5nm (0.9km) from the airport, breaking its left wing on a delivery truck and snapping off its tail cone and nose gear on impact with the street.

The pilot, who was not injured, had planned to fly to Kalamazoo, Michigan under an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. Pictures were supplied by FlightAware.com