The chute, whatever your opinion as a pilot, is a good PR story for GA.

I'd like to suggest an alternate interpretation: These ballistic
chutes are good PR for ballistic chutes. They're poor PR for the 99%
of planes that don't have them, and only reinforce the opinion in the
minds of the public that small planes are inherently unsafe UNLESS they
have chutes.

A non-aviator sees one of these stories and doesn't think "Wow, I guess
these planes are safer than I though!" They think "Wow, he sure was
lucky that plane happened to have a parachute."

Ben Hallert
PP-ASEL