Originally Posted by
Torquetalk
Plenty of Rotorheads make their living from such misjudgements, bad luck and accidents.
This, exactly. And not just rotorheads. Can't speak to other parts of the world, but 'merica has no end of wannabee, and sometimes actual, heroes. From SCUBA divers to mountain climbers and everything in-between, you can't go into the woods without tripping over some kind of volunteer, para-public, or public technical rescue team. They absolutely live for this stuff, and are just as happy to rescue an idiot as they are someone who did everything right and still got it wrong. I'm just as guilty, having once been a member of a fairly busy volunteer rescue ambulance service for almost ten years. After shift beers were always thick with conversations like "Man, that was a great call! Well, not so much for the idiot and his chain saw, but we got to do field brain surgery, it was awesome!" And that sort of thing.
That said, they are still happy to charge you actual money for being stupid and not just adventurous, and will hypocritically distribute press releases telling you to be safe but secretly pleased when you aren't. Because not only is it fun and rewarding to rescue people, but when those people are idiots and the rescue chargeable it generates an important revenue stream for the volly and para-public op's. Some states offer what amounts to a "get out of jail free" card. You buy the card for short money, say $25 USD, and if you do happen to require some legendary rescue op. it's "no charge".