As an emergency physician with a background in epidemiology and public health, I would like to thank Rick Durden and Aviation Consumer for the article on Safety Refurbs in the March 2014 issue. Although it was very we’ll done and quite helpful, I’d like to add two caveats.
It is difficult to calculate overall effectiveness of safety equipment because flying is actually pretty safe and there are always unintended consequences of adding equipment. Like anti-lock brakes in cars, I’m sure that parachutes save some individuals. But some pilots would have been better off spending the money on training, better instruments or replacing the parachute with fuel. Anti-lock brakes might induce complacency and increase risk-taking by drivers, which makes up for their overall benefit. I suspect that parachutes are a good idea, and I’d never do acro without one, but suspicion is not proof.