Yes, an emotive subject.
I found myself in the position of having to dunk an Explorer's skids in the sea so the paramedic could lift out a drowning three year old girl.
Long before this we had discussed this possible scenario as a crew, following a similar incident in South Wales. The consensus was that we would help other agencies as much as possible but that risking the helicopter was a no-no.
When it came to the crunch, with a lifeboat or winch-equipped helicopter more than 15 minutes away, the decision was easy to make and I believe most pilots would have made the same decision. Do you watch a child drown or do you lift her out? The possibility of litigation never entered my head but the risk to the helicopter was certainly uppermost in my mind. As Bravo 99 (AJB) says, the cards were certainly stacked in our favour with an offshore breeze and gentle swell.
Of course the CAA took a great interest following the event but they were as pleased at the successful outcome as anyone. That's not to say that they wouldn't have jumped all over me if I had C***ed up, I was in no doubt that they would have!
I hope none of you have to make a similar decision, I certainly don't want to do it again. Our unit now carries a self-inflating device to chuck to survivors but that wouldn't have been of much use on the day.
Sorry this thread has gone off the Hospital Landing Site topic a bit, but I felt I should add my thoughts after reading it.