"Ron Lee" wrote in message
...

Last year I took a mountain flying course to handle
the training part (RV-6A takes care of the plane). One thing they
stress is do not fly over mountains at night and yet the Cirrus pilot
reportedly did.

Your implication is that he should not have done that. If the CAPS system
gives you enough additional safety margin to make such a flight reasonable,
why not?


The other noteworthy report about this incident (again if factually
reported) is that he encountered severe turbulence. Was turbulence
forecast or to be expected? I check winds aloft forecasts and cancel
mountain excursions if beyond my comfort level. Could he not execute
a 180 degree turn and get to calmer air?

If you took a mountain flying course, they should have taught you that the
weather in mountains is unpredictable.


The second incident (Florida I believe) was just after a take-off
where the ceiling was 400'. I would assume that the pilot was
instrument rated (not confirmed). If not then the conclusion is
obvious. If instrument rated, what conditions would have occurred
that were not available to the pilot to cause him to be unable to
safely land mere minutes after take-off?

The pilot was instrument rated on an IFR flight plan, but it does not matter
whether the instruments failed or he became disoriented, or both. If he was
unable to fly "needle, ball, airspeed" (and it is a lot easier to do that in
training than when the instruments actually fail) and was unable to maintain
control of the aircraft for any reason, he should have deployed the chute.
The airplane was close to the ground and in IMC. I suspect that it was the
better part of valor to deploy the chute and figure out what went wrong
later.

In general, the CAPS system gives the pilot not only an additional safety
margin, but additional capability. This is true of all safety improvements.
They give you the option to do things safely that were maybe too dangerous
to do before. As with all new technologies, the limits of what CAPS can do
for us will be explored and a gradual consensus will be developed as to what
those limits are.