Image Source: NASA.gov
In an attempt to revive the grounded fleet of Indian Air Force's HPT-32 trainer aircraft, the Indian aerospace engineers have come out with a unique but dangerous idea. They have decided to fit the aircraft with a huge heavy-duty parachute to prevent its free fall in case an accident occurs.
The parachute will supposedly slow the aircraft down and lower it to the ground safely. As a result, the crew will survive, and the aircraft will escape with minor damage. But the experts feel the idea is bizarre and is unlikely to save the pilot's life in case of emergency.
Headlines Today broke the news in August 2009 how the IAF had grounded its entire fleet of the basic trainer aircraft following a spate of fatal crashes. However, instead of dealing with the problem at hand and making a safer airplane, the government is now examining a desperately radical stop-gap measure that cannot guarantee the safety of pilots and still cost the government billions of rupees.
In technical terms, it is called a ballistic recovery system. But veteran pilots believe it is a terrible idea. Air Marshal A.K. Singh, the chairman of Military Advisory Council, said it showed how the authorities are completely out of ideas and paying the price for criminal negligence of flight training infrastructure.
Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/90076/India/Parachute+to+hold+IAF%E2%80%99s+trainer+plane+if+it+falls!.html
Comments: After the loss of many lives, common sense has finally prevailed and the grave matter of flight safety being openly neglected is being addressed. Even though the pilots lost in HPT-32 accidents will not return, this step will surely go a long way in ensuring the safety of the future pilots of IAF. I sincerely hope the IAF doesn't rest after attaching the safety chute ... the real problem with the HPT-32 should still be identified, and rectified.
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