Parachute Saved Lives In 2 Crashes, Including 1 In Md.

FREDERICK, Md. (WJZ) -- Months after two men walked away from a plane crash in Frederick saying a parachute attached to their plane saved their lives, another incident over the Pacific Ocean shows how this special parachute may have made the difference between life and death again.

Mary Bubala reports.

Who can forget the tragedy of a mid-air crash between a plane and a helicopter at the Frederick Municipal Airport. All three on the chopper were killed; the two men in the plane walked away.

Their plane, a 2006 Cirrus SR-22, was equipped with a special parachute that softened their crash landing. It's the exact same type of plane that ran into engine trouble over the Pacific this week as it neared Hawaii from California. The pilot released the parachute, pulling a special red handle.

For one terrifying moment, it looked like a total failure---the plane plunged nose-first toward the ocean. But then it did what it was supposed to. The parachute set the plane down on the water. The pilot climbed out and onto a raft, which was then picked up by a nearby cruise ship.

"The work with the team when I was on the water, getting me out of there, getting me out of the boat," said pilot Lue Morton.

Cirrus says its parachutes have been used 51 times in the past 15 years, saving 104 people. Add this lucky pilot and the two Maryland men who walked away from the crash in Frederick.

The parachutes are standard operating equipment on the Cirrus SR-22 planes. Many people say it's why they purchased that model.

The NTSB is still investigating the crash in Frederick. A final report is months away.