Airbus Patents Detachable Cabins to Cut Plane Boarding Times
wired.com
wired.com
It would be a lot easier to do a "tube in a tube" concept using a swing up nose like what is already available on the 747 (could be available for the A380). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cargolux_B747-400F.jpg Then use cameras and video screens to simulate windows.
References:
* Boeing 747 "Large Cargo Freighter" aka Dreamlifter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Dreamlifter / http://www.primeportal.net/hangar/howard_mason3/747_lcf/
* Airbus Beluga https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_Beluga
So I'm not super clear on what, exactly, this solves in that regard. If there were modular fuel tanks and some sort of cannon that shot your luggage from check-in directly into the luggage compartment, maybe... :)
Maybe the other parts are described in different patents or were determinded to be not patentable. Or they do not yet have a found a worthwhile solutino, but that does not mean they never will.
Also filing for a patent does not even mean they plan to execute on this idea in the forseable future.
Maybe this is because of what you wrote :)
Look to improving movement of planes at airports, unobtrusive but thorough scanning of flyers and crews; both ground and airborne, and more automation. (didn't they have a cool concept in the Running Man?
Perhaps the only incident I can think of where a parachute may have helped was US Airways 1549, where a bird strike caused loss of power to both engines. In that case, however, sufficient safety controls existed to enable landing on the Hudson river, and the aircraft functioned as designed (engines broke off when hitting water, the aircraft floated long enough to ensure safe evacuation of all passengers, life rafts deployed, etc). I would argue a parachute would probably have resulted in loss of life as a giant A320 parachute falling uncontrolled on to New York City would probably kill people crashing in to a building.
Rather than focus on superfluous, impractical safety measures, commercial aircraft designers have instead spent time on things that actually save lives, such as Traffic Avoidance and Ground Proximity warning systems.
Note that parachutes do exist for smaller planes, where the risks and benefits are substantially different. A good example is the Cirrus SR-22. It seems that most cases of deploying the parachute on the Cirrus is due to pilots running out of fuel, a failure which is extremely improbable in commercial aviation.
Another is United 232, the Sioux City crash during a landing where all hydraulics had been lost, leaving the pilots with only differential thrust to steer with.
Perhaps TWA 800, if I'm recalling correctly that the explosion basically decapitated the plane leaving the passenger section largely intact.
Also maybe Aloha 243. That plane was able to land after a large chunk of the cabin blew out with no fatalities other than a crew member who was sucked out during the initial blow out, so like USAir 1549 a parachute would not have saved any lives in that particular incident. In that type of incident, though, it probably would have been a good option. Such incidents leave the pilots with a plane that is flying at the moment, but that has severe structural damage leaving them with no idea what maneuvers they can do without tearing it apart and no idea if it is even going to hold together in stable level flight. That would probably be an incident where your probabilities would be better with popping the 'chute.
Engineering a cabin to be detached in a controlled manner at the gate, sitting nicely on the ground with nary a care in the world, while still a difficult engineering problem, is considerably easier than engineering a cabin that can be rapidly detached at altitude safely. It would be hideously more complex, and in all likelihood, that complexity would increase the potential for a catastrophic accident while airborne. Planes are kept relatively simple, despite their actual complexity, for a reason.
So it's unlikely that whole-plane parachutes would actually save lives with jetliners. Light aircraft incidents are much more common, and they're small enough to benefit significantly from a parachute.