3top-
I started flying in '69 as a US Army helo pilot, 1st duty assignment- VietNam. My callsign while there is the source of my forum name, "Devil 49". I've been in a situation or two.
I'm not new to the type being discussed, either. Over the years, I've gotten something on the order of:
5000 hours (over 15 years) in the TwinStar/AStar;
approx 30,000 landings in the airframe;
Flown EMS in it for the last 6 years, and I've seen people die in it;
And I've had the occasional failure in the type. It's my favorite of all the helicopters I've flown.
I'll repeat, I've been in a situation or two, and I would so leave the broken aircraft to fend for itself, so quickly, that it's not funny. Sorry about the couple days hike in or hoist down to fix it, but...
As to passengers and any life and death scenarios imaginable, that's an individual call. As we say in EMS, I won't kill 4, 3 or even 2 trying to save 1. Add the fact that taking passengers aboard a disabled aircraft is a violation of professional trust.
One is casual regarding airworthiness at one's own peril. It tends to become a fatal habit, in my experience. This aircraft regularly kills pilots dealing with hydraulic problems. I have to believe that in all those events, there's been at least one pilot who was as good as I am. It can happen to me, if I let it.