"Scott Skylane" wrote in message
...
Ron Lee wrote:

And the reports seem to glorify the BRS yet nothing is mentioned of
why the pilot entered icing conditions and if that should have been
anticipated. Ron Lee

Another point to consider, weather conditions on the ground at that time
were quite good. Birmingham reported about 4300 Broken, temp +9C.
Montgomery had 3500 Scattered, +14C. Odds are, he could have just
descended into warmer, clearer air, shed the ice, and flew on, a bit wiser
and scareder(sp?). We'll never know, of course, and you can't argue with
"success", but I have to wonder about this "pull the chute if anything is
amiss, and let the chips fall where they may(so to speak)" mentality that
the BRS types advocate. Someday, someone's going to get hurt, when they
didn't have to.

Happy Flying!
Scott Skylane


That's true in any situation and our Armchair Quarterbacking will always
make sense after the fact. But if the thing truly did go out of control I
don't think I would "hope" that a warmer lower level would shed the ice and
allow me to regain control, assuming of course the wings stayed attached. I
think I'd rather read that the chute "saved" the lives of 3 GA pilots and
passengers instead of another GA plane crash in bad weather that caused the
plane to "stall". The chute, whatever your opinion as a pilot, is a good PR
story for GA.

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DW