The cycle path accident he was doing a bottom pass at cutting speed approximately 10 knots. With the design of the trapeze the solid connector pipes and rotator attachment to the hook there is no way to release the saw when it is loaded from underneath i.e the bottom of the saw on the ground and the continued compression load on the pipes as he rotated forward to the crash site. Added to this all the east coast saw guys use a double hook system to avoid inadvertent hook releases and for other emergency stuck saw and electrical issues.
After the engine quit in the phase of flight he was in, considering any human reaction time, there was a tiny opportunity to pickle the load prior lawn darting.
500 is undoubtedly the best aircraft for this job. For hot and high we have used the 530. It blows the tree limbs a bit more with the extra downwash so cutting downwind say you are committed to a 3 foot cut and then the downwash hits the trees before you get to it, now you are cutting a 8 foot limb. If your cutting service or distribution on a narrow right of way your now after doing a bit of damage. The c30 compressor doesn’t move the air as fast as the c20 leading to some compressor stalls.
Going any any bigger than the 530 seems it would just blow the branches a lot more and make the trimming slower and unproductive
I have seen a Huey out of Arkansas, a S58 out of Arizona and also an Astar from Oregon trimming trees. Neither of these operations could compete with the efficiency of the little birds in any terrain.