Definition
An airframe-mounted emergency parachute system that, when activated by the pilot, uses a small rocket to deploy a large canopy capable of lowering the entire airplane to the ground at a survivable rate of descent.
Plain English
A whole-airplane parachute. The pilot pulls a handle, a rocket fires out a parachute, and the plane floats down instead of crashing.
Context Anchor
Seen in emergency equipment descriptions, aircraft operating manuals, and preflight discussions of airplanes equipped with a whole-aircraft parachute system.
Derivation
Ballistic refers to something propelled by a rocket or explosive charge, from the Latin ballista, an ancient weapon that hurled projectiles. The word is used here because a small rocket motor pulls the parachute clear of the airplane fast enough to open it even at low altitude.
Why Pilots Care
It offers a last-resort option to survive total loss of control or power when conventional recovery is impossible.
Grounding Statement
Picture one handle starting a rocket-launched parachute that carries the entire airplane down after the pilot can no longer safely fly or land it normally.
Intuition Check
Do not read ballistic as meaning violent or uncontrolled here. It means the parachute is launched out of the airplane by a powered device.
Example Sentence 1
After the engine failed over rough terrain with no place to land, the pilot deployed the ballistic recovery parachute.
Example Sentence 2
The preflight checklist includes verifying the ballistic recovery parachute safety pin is removed.