I've got the information that one was a dummy and the rescuer survived. But one or two makes no difference for our thread.
During investigations the crew reported: The crew encountered wind problems and cutted the hoist, not knowing that the load was under way.
Looking to the clip we see that the rescuer is clearly indicating the upward signal and the hoist is going on. In this moment the helicoptercrew especially the hoist operator must be max concentrated on the lifting process. Therefore i'm not sure if the crew was unaware to see the load is up from ground. The hoist operator looked downward, loaded cable and the pilot needed more collective. The cable was cutted by the pilot. May be in strong and gusting wind he didn't note the more power and that the load was on their way. But what kind of intercomm they used? Didn't the operator talk to the pilot?
Next problem is the missed radiolink to the rescuer. In case of any cable release it's nearly impossible to inform the ground rescuer. The rescuer isn't informed about the problems above his head. Thats anyway a problem on such radiofree missions. Engine failure, any kind of powerdropping, hoist failure,... how is it possible to inform the "load". I remember the accident with the A 119 Koala in Austria, non radiolink, engine control problems, after more than 30 minutes and climbing up to more than 12,000 ft, OAT -25°C the rescuer was dropped into the Bodensee and died. Must be a horrortrip!
Why we do see up to today radiofree lifts? Equipment is available and it's cheap compared with the helicoptercosts, not more than 2000€ for a radiohelmet and a portable radio. 2000€ is the average price for ONE mission in the Alps.
How could a crew rate safe the weather conditions? Wind speed isn't the one and only factor. 20kt anyway allowed by manufacturer could be to much in some situations and on others 40kt are ok.
How many training needs the envolved personal? Some operators check their pilots any 3 months, the next 6 months, 12 months or they don't fly annually training. Some rescuers don't ever train annually or only 3-5 hurry lifts in 10 minutes.
Some operators in Europe are very professional and good, but the other side... We have some very experienced pilots and rescuers but due to the widen numbers of helicopters performing hoist or short haul missions the number of involved personal is increasing.
What's with risk management? In the Alps we have any year a increasing number of hoist and shorthauls. Nearly any broken ankle on ski slope must be "rescued" by shorthaul. It's comfortable for the ground troops and lucratively for the operators. If i train mountain troopers often they think a shorthaul or hoist mission is exciting but only a game. And they have that opinion from some TV shows and from some company managers trying to increase their business. Unfortunately is any shorthaul much more risky than the ground transport of the broken ankle by sleight (akja) from a well prepared ski slope.