1. ACCIDENT SCENE SAFETY RECOGNIZE THE PRESENCE OF A BRS SYSTEM
AVOID THE POSSIBILITY OF INADVERTENTLY INITIATING THE SYSTEM
TAKE THE NECESSARY STEPS TO DEACTIVATE THE SYSTEM

2. A BRIEF HISTORY…
BRS WAS FOUNDED IN 1980 BY BORIS POPOV, WHO CREATED A WHOLE AIRCRAFT PARACHUTE RECOVERY SYSTEM FOR ULTRALIGHTS
SINCE THEN, BRS HAS MOVED INTO EXPERIMENTAL AND GENERAL AVIATION AS WELL
OVER 18,000 SYSTEMS SOLD – 1500 GENERAL AVIATION AIRCRAFT

3. AN OVERVIEW
HERE’S A TYPICAL ULTRALIGHT INSTALLATION

4. ULTRALIGHTS
THIS IS A BRS CANISTER SYSTEM INSTALLED ON THE UNDERSIDE OF AN ULTRALIGHT

5. GENERAL AVIATION
IN 1998, CIRRUS DESIGN OF DULUTH, MINNESOTA BEGAN PRODUCTION OF THE SR20 SINGLE ENGINE, 4-PLACE, COMPOSITE AIRCRAFT, WHICH WAS SOON FOLLOWED BY THE SR22. EACH CONTAINS A BRS PARACHUTE SYSTEM

6. CIRRUS CALLS IT “CAPS”, OR:
CIRRUS AIRFRAME PARACHUTE SYSTEM

7. CIRRUS DESIGN
THE PARACHUTE IS INSTALLED BEHIND THE BAGGAGE AREA. ALSO VISIBLE HERE IS THE ROCKET MOTOR IGNITER

8. CIRRUS DESIGN

9. CIRRUS DESIGN
UNFORTUNATELY, THE CIRRUS ACTIVATION CABLE IS COMPLETELY COVERED. ONE LIKELY ACCESS POINT IS ADJACENT TO THE BAGGAGE DOOR, UNDER THE HEADLINER

10. CESSNA 172
IN 2002, BRS RECEIVED A SUPPLEMENTAL TYPE CERTIFICATE (STC) FOR A C172 PARACHUTE SYSTEM

11. CESSNA 172
THE CESSNA SYTEM IS MOUNTED IN THE BAGGAGE COMPARTMENT AND IS EXTRACTED THROUGH THE REAR WINDOW

12. CESSNA 172

13. CESSNA 182
IN MID-2004, BRS RECEIVED AN STC FOR THE C182 SYSTEM

14. CESSNA 182
SHOWN DURING INSTALLATION, THIS IS THE PARACHUTE CANISTER AND ROCKET HOUSING

15. CESSNA 182
THE ACTIVATION CABLE CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE BAGGAGE DOOR AND BEHIND THE PARACHUTE CANISTER

16. CESSNA 182
THIS SHOWS THE IGNITER AT THE BASE OF THE ROCKET MOUNT. THE ACTIVATION CABLE EXTENDS DOWNWARD TO THE FLOOR PAN, THEN FWD TO THE HANDLE BOX

17. CESSNA 150
IN THE EARLY 90’S, BRS RECEIVED AN STC FOR THE CESSNA 150/152 MODELS. NOT A GREAT NUMBER OF THESE SYSTEMS WERE FIELDED

18. CESSNA 150
THE C150 SYSTEM IS INSTALLED INTO THE ROOF OF THE BAGGAGE AREA. THE ROCKET IS INSIDE THIS CONTAINER.

19. CESSNA 150

20. INITIATING THE SYSTEM
ALL BRS PARACHUTE SYSTEMS ARE EXTRACTED AND DEPLOYED THROUGH THE USE OF A SOLID PROPELLENT ROCKET MOTOR, WHICH USES A HIGHLY SAFE AND RELIABLE MECHANICAL IGNITER
THE IGNITER IS CONNECTED VIA CABLE TO THE ACTIVATION HANDLE

21. ACTIVATION ASSEMBLY

22. IGNITER ASSEMBLY
THE BRS MECHANICAL IGNITER DOES NOT USE STORED ENERGY. THE SPRING IS NOT COMPRESSED PRIOR TO THE ACTIVATION SEQUENCE

23. IGNITER INTERNALS

25. BRS 600/900 MOTORS
USED ON GENERAL AVIATION OR
HEAVIER SPORT AIRCRAFT

26. BRS 300/400 SERIES ROCKET MOTOR
USED ON ULTRALIGHT AIRCRAFT

27. SPORT SYSTEM LAUNCH TUBE
OFTEN ATTACHED DIRECTLY TO THE PARACHUTE BOX OR CANISTER

28. OLD “ISP” MOTOR
FOUND ONLY ON PRE-1998 ULTRALIGHT AIRCRAFT

29. DROGUE GUN OBSOLETED IN 1988
THE DROGUE GUN USED A PROPELLANT CHARGE TO FIRE A HEAVY STEEL WEIGHT. KINETIC ENERGY PULLED THE PARACHUTE OUT

30. LARGE BRS MOTOR IN LAUNCH TUBE
AS FOUND ON CIRRUS, CESSNA
AND LARGE SPORT AIRCRAFT

31. BRS CANISTER MODEL WITH LAUNCH TUBE

32. BRS SOFT PACK MODEL

33. VERTICAL LAUNCH SYSTEM (VLS)

34. THE CORE ISSUE:
AN AIRCRAFT HAS CRASHED, WHICH OFTEN RESULTS IN THE ROCKET FIRING UPON IMPACT. HOWEVER, IN CERTAIN INSTANCES, THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN, LEAVING A LIVE ROCKET, ATTACHED TO THE ACTUATING CABLE, IN THE MIDST OF A TWISTED WRECKAGE.

35. CIRRUS SR20/22

36. THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE:
FIRST SUCCESSFUL USE OF THE “CAPS” SYSTEM BY A CIRRUS PILOT, LIONEL MORRISON, OCTOBER 2002

37. N116CD – IMPACT WITH TERRAIN

38. PARACHUTE AND ROCKET

40. RECOGNITION
WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT AN ACCIDENT SCENE AND CIRCUMSTANCES ALLOW YOU TO APPROACH THE WRECKAGE, LOOK FOR ANY OF THE THREE MAJOR BRS SYSTEM COMPONENTS:
PARACHUTE PACK
ROCKET
ACTIVATION HANDLE

41. CLEAR AN AREA
ONE OF THE STICKERS ON THE LAUNCH TUBE ADVISES “TREAT LIKE A LOADED GUN”. WITH THAT IN MIND, CLEAR A 90 DEGREE AREA LYING IN THE PATH OF THE ROCKET, EXTENDING 100 FEET OUT, IF POSSIBLE

42. ASCERTAIN:
DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THE CRASH HAS CAUSED THE ROCKET TO FIRE. TYPICALLY, YOU WILL SEE THAT THE PARACHUTE HAS BEEN PULLED FROM ITS CONTAINER.
IN VIOLENT CRASHES, IT IS VERY COMMON FOR THE ROCKET TO HAVE FIRED.

43. WHY DOES THE ROCKET FIRE DURING IMPACT?
DURING A VIOLENT CRASH, THE AIRFRAME SUBSTANTIALLY DEFORMS OR IS OTHERWISE DESTROYED. AS A RESULT, THE CABLE JOINING THE ROCKET MOTOR TO THE HANDLE IS STRETCHED TO THE POINT THAT THE IGNITER IS FUNCTIONED AND THE ROCKET FIRES.

44. ROCKET HAS NOT FIRED
YOU’VE DETERMINED THAT THE ROCKET HAS NOT FIRED. THEN…
DETERMINE THAT THE ACTUATING CABLE IS NOT STRETCHED TIGHTLY BETWEEN THE ROCKET AND THE HANDLE. THIS IS EXTREMELY UNLIKELY, BUT COULD PRESENT A SITUATION IN WHICH THE IGNITER IS ON THE BRINK OF BEING FIRED.

45. REPLACING THE SAFETY PIN
LOCATE THE ACTIVATION HANDLE
PLACE A 3/16” DIA. PIN INTO THE SAFETY PIN HOLE

46. SAFING PROCEDURE YOU CAN NOW PROCEED TO DO ONE OF TWO THINGS:
DISCONNECT THE CABLE FROM THE IGNITER, OR
CUT THE CABLE ITSELF USING A SUITABLE TOOL.

47. DISCONNECT CABLE REMOVE THE CAP PLUG THAT HIDES THE ATTACHING SCREW
USING A 1/8 INCH ALLEN KEY, REMOVE THE MACHINE SCREW THAT SECURES THE CABLE TO THE IGNITER

48. CABLE TO IGNITER ATTACHMENT

49. CABLE TO IGNITER ATTACHMENT

50. SEVER THE CABLE
IN A CIRRUS OR CESSNA, THIS IS OFTEN THE MOST STRAIGHT- FORWARD METHOD. EXPOSE A SECTION OF THE ACTIVATION CABLE, PREFERABLY NEAR THE ROCKET AND CUT IT WITH A SUITABLE TOOL SUCH AS A FELCO CUTTER

51. THE FELCO CUTTER
THIS IS THE SMALLER FELCO CUTTER – THEY MAKE SEVERAL SIZES, AS DOES THE GREENLEE TOOL COMPANY, DIVISION OF TEXTRON

52. ALTERNATE APPROACH:
SOME AGENCIES HAVE TAKEN THE POSITION THAT DEACTIVATING A BRS SYSTEM IS BEST LEFT TO EXPERTS AND THEREFORE RECOMMEND CONTACTING THE LOCAL BOMB SQUAD. WE LEAVE THIS DECISION UP TO THE AUTHORITIES IN CHARGE AT THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT

53. DISPOSAL OF ROCKET
THE SMALLER ULTRALIGHT MOTOR IS RELATIVELY EASY AND SAFE TO DISPOSE OF. UPON REQUEST, BRS WILL PROVIDE THE NECESSARY INFORMATION.
THE LARGER GENERAL AVIATION ROCKET MUST BE HANDLED IN A MORE EXACTING MANNER. CONTACT BRS FOR INFORMATION

54. IN CLOSING
A PRIMARY CONSIDERATION IN THE DESIGN OF BRS SYSTEMS IS SAFETY. BY BEING OBSERVANT AND EXERCISING CAUTION IN DEALING WITH AN UN-ACTIVATED SYSTEM, THE CHANCES OF AN INADVERTENT FIRING ARE ALMOST NIL. HOWEVER, SHOULD YOU ENCOUNTER THIS SITUATION, DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT BRS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. THANK YOU.

55. CALL: FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE, CONTACT BRS: OFFICE HOURS (CENTRAL TIME)
AFTER HOURS

56. DEFINING AVIATION SAFETY
ANOTHER LEVEL OF SECURITY