Cirrus Airframe Parachute System

The design became the first of its kind to become certified with the FAA, achieving certification in October 1998, and as of 2022 was the only aircraft ballistic parachute used as standard equipment by an aviation company.

Nonetheless, in 2004 Cirrus completed a limited series of spin recovery tests to meet European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) requirements and no unusual characteristics were found.

[13] In 2018, Cirrus won the Collier Trophy for the Vision Jet, due in part to the aircraft's inclusion of CAPS.

The award is presented annually for "the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles".

[14] Cirrus founders brothers Alan and Dale Klapmeier set out to implement CAPS on all their future Cirrus models after Alan survived a mid-air collision in 1985, where his plane lost more than three feet of wing including half the aileron; the pilot in the other aircraft spiraled into the ground and was killed.

[22][23] The first emergency deployment in a Vision Jet occurred in 2022 near Kissimmee, Florida; two occupants were uninjured while a third had "non life-threatening injuries".

Photo series showing a Cirrus SR20 deploying the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) during inflight testing in 1998