BRS Saves Life #159 | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.09.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.10.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Sat, Jan 10, 2004

BRS Saves Life #159

That's 159 And Counting

It's not a bad day at all when you can save a life. Friday, Ballistic Recovery Systems got word that its life-saving emergency parachute system had done just that.

It was the company's 159th saving of a life through the use of one its ballistically-deployed emergency parachutes. The fortunate pilot was Mike Daeges of Prineville (OR).

Daeges' system, installed on a Hy-Tek Hurricane ultralight, was a BRS-5-750 canister unit, manufactured in June of 1998. His altitude at the time of deployment was just 200 feet above ground. Mike tells the story in his own words:

"I was flying low and slow over a wilderness area looking for a neighbor's lost horse when the engine spit out a spark plug. I was flying up a ridge line at the time so I was able to gain some time and look for a clearing by doing a 180 down into the canyon. No clearings were visible and the only one I could think of was near the mouth of the canyon. Once I realized I couldn't glide that far I said, 'Rats' for the 100th time and then looked for a spot to hit the 'chute over. A one-acre patch of second growth trees on the hillside to my left was the best I could do.

"I heard the loud bang and was amazed at how fast I found myself nearly upside down as the chute stopped the nose of the plane and the tail swung underneath and then up. Since I was only about 200 feet up when I pulled the 'chute, the ride down was very short. The next thing I saw was a tree within arm's reach on my right side holding the right wing up and causing the left wing and tail to contact the ground first. Between the tree, the left wing and tail all folding up, there wasn't even a bump when I hit the ground. I was able to walk away without even a scratch. I then had to hike out about five miles but with the adrenaline it was easy." Daeges expressed appreciation to BRS for a successful conclusion to a threatening situation.

"Every life we save is special and important to BRS. We can build on every such real-life experience to make our products the finest they can be," said BRS president & CEO, Mark Thomas.

BRS designs, manufactures and distributes whole-aircraft emergency parachute systems for use on general aviation and recreational aircraft. Since the early 1980s BRS has delivered over 18,000 parachute systems to aircraft owners around the world including over 1,200 systems on certified aircraft. Actual documented uses of these systems are credited with saving the lives of 159 persons (of which ANN Editor-In-Chief Jim "Look Out Below" Campbell is lucky number 56... no kidding) through December 2003.

FMI: www.BRSparachutes.com

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Final Report: Aviat A1

Airplane Bounced About 3 Ft Then Touched Back Down And Then, With No Brakes Applied, The Airplane Began Veering To The Left Analysis: The pilot entered the airport traffic pattern >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.08.25)

Aero Linx: British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) The primary focus within all aviation activity is SAFETY. In all aspects of our sport SAFETY must come first, whether it b>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Fly Corvair’s Reliable Engine Alternative

From SnF25 (YouTube Edition): William Wynne Builds Practical Aircraft Engines on the Corvair Platform Seeking an affordable alternative to the traditional aircraft engine options, >[...]

ANN FAQ: Contributing To Aero-TV

How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: CiES Fuel-Quantity and e-Throttle Systems Praised

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Bridge of CiES CiES Inc. is a Bend, Oregon-based designer and manufacturer of modular embedded aircraft systems and sensors. The company’s fuel-l>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC