I used to have a BRS parachute on my ultralight and it was deployed with a solid fuel rocket. I don't know how you'd get one to ignite in an RC plane? If you could, would the damage from the rocket ignition be as bad or worse than the damage from shaking hands with Mother Earth?

I have to agree with capt17 in that the crashes happen so close to the ground that you would not have enough time to react. Plus, if you could react in time, you may panic enough that you would not be able to reach the switch in time or would there even be enough time for the chute to deploy?

I think your time would be more wisely spent trying to figure out why there is nearly a crash a day at your local field and take the appropriate measures to ensure you don't make the same mistakes. Pilot error is the main reason for crashes and that includes mechanical failures. By that I mean if a hinge fails then it was not installed right, checked before the flight, or the plane was flown beyond it's structural limits.

Hope that made sense.