My best wishes go to the crew of Navy 417 and I am glad that they are O.K. I was a pax in the same helo with same crew previously.
There has been a lot of speculation, but there are other elements which have still to be factored in, which I am sure will come to light at the BOI.
I believe that the crew did an excellent job under the circumstances with no injuries and hardly getting wet.
As for the use of Emcon policy, no matter what the circs are surrounding its use at the time, surely it is professional to practice its use during an exercise in any event.