They actually don't help much, and arguably make things worse, because pilots that have them do things they would otherwise shy away from, like fly over mountains in marginal weather. Cirrus has only had one or maybe a couple more legitimate saves.
Most airplane accidents happen on takeoff/landing or inadvertent terrain collision in bad weather. Neither of which a parachute would help.
If his coining the 10th rule of programming wasn't enough for me to want to meet him add in the aviation stuff and he's definitely on my top list of people I'd want to meet.
You really don't know what you're talking about. There is no evidence that the parachute entices pilots to take greater risks (if I'm wrong, by all means cite some), any more than car seat belts entice drivers to take more risks. Furthermore, "As of 25 January 2015 there have been 51 saves with 104 survivors in aircraft equipped with the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS)." (https://www.cirruspilots.org/copa/safety_programs/w/safety_p...)
While I am certain there will be no evidence that parachutes have any impact on pilot behavior based on the small sample size, I am also certain that there is nothing magic about pilots and that they suffer from the same effects of psychological risk compensation as everyone else does. If parachutes make taking risks less fatal then more risks will be taken. It is as simple as that.
Most airplane accidents happen on takeoff/landing or inadvertent terrain collision in bad weather. Neither of which a parachute would help.
Source: Pilot, skydiver aviation nerd.
Philip Greenspun is a pretty accomplished pilot and has some good writings on it: http://philip.greenspun.com/flying/cirrus-sr20
If his coining the 10th rule of programming wasn't enough for me to want to meet him add in the aviation stuff and he's definitely on my top list of people I'd want to meet.