I'm looking at this with 20/20 hindsight, and am only FW pilot, but is a winch absolutely necessary to carry out such a rescue? Would it not be possible to improvise a rescue using simply a fixed rope? Could not the Chinook (or other non-winch helo) just land outside the minefield, crewman/medic hops out and helo lifts off again with him deployed on a fixed rope. Once casualty is fished out of trouble, helo lands again nearby and casualty stowed aboard.
Last edited by CirrusF; 18th Oct 2008 at 10:12.