There are almost as many start-up eVTOL aircraft developers as there are industry observers who have argued that if this new air transportation mode suffers a single fatal accident it could be its last. Aviation regulators have made it clear they will hold the envisaged eVTOL air taxi services to the same safety standards as current commercial operations, but some say there is a case for above-and-beyond protection like that promised by systems such as whole-aircraft parachutes that deploy automatically to ensure a soft landing for a failed air vehicle.
The equipment is already standard on Cirrus Aircraft’s SR20, SR22, and SF50 Vision Jet general aviation aircraft, using a device developed by the manufacturer and Ballistic Recovery Systems, which is also creating a version for Transcend Aerospace’s Vy 400 VTOL aircraft. Cirrus has released a video describing how one of its owner-pilots safely deployed the parachute after an engine failure.
