Underslung loads in emergency
Forgive the daft question, as my helo experience has mainly been limited to being an enthusiastic passenger while a cadet a longer time ago that I wish to think about.
Watching UK 'Traitors' final last night, I was surprised to see a helicopter flying around with two people suspended beneath. Not on a winch, as far as I could tell, just a fixed length of rope.It got me wondering about emergencies (and also what on earth they put in their risk assessment 😄!).
I'm pretty sure it was a twin Eurocopter, so at least the risk of an engine issue was mitigated a bit, but in the event of an emergency (it's filmed nr Inverness in Scotland, so let's say an Osprey birdstrike into one or both engines) what chance is there for the people underneath? Could a pilot/crew successfully maintain enough control to allow both danglers and occupants to survive a forced landing?
Obviously stuff like this happens in SAR too, like the Sea King at Scar Lathing. Is the procedure with a winch to just haul in and hope the winch can wind quicker than the rate of descent?
If it's a non-human underslung load, do you have the ability to just dump it? (Thinking about those helicopters that carry bag loads of rock up mountains in the Lakes to repair paths)