The method described above by Hugh, is not a new one.
I clearly recall thr "Batcopter" an all-singing, all dancing variant of the Bell 47 being used in a similar fashion. Unfortunately during the trials, with Robin at the helm, Batman was savagely attacked by a Shark!
After some deft work with an aerosol can of shark repellant, the vicious beast let go. Later on they also demonstrated a unique emergency preocedure when they suffered an engine failure but were fortunate enough to perform an emergency landing in a mattress factory!
