....I suspect it would seldom (if ever) be used
It has been used for maritime rescue.
Where do you store the thing? Offshore on a rig, or ashore in the aircraft hangar
Either or both, as applicable. A fold-flat version is in development.
Who inspects and load tests it periodically
Who looks after your helicopters?
....to make sure the thing can still support 16
It has a payload of 2 tonnes at a safety factor of 3.75:1. Not as difficult to maintain as the thing that carries it.
What do you do with it if you take off with it on the hook, arrive on scene, and find you don't need it, or indeed it is a liability for your particular situation?
It shouldn't be difficult to drop it somewhere for later retrieval.
Crab's admonitions about exposure and so forth are also well-considered, and in my experience, accurate.
See:
On the 19th I wrote:
Quote:
Inshore or oilfields, short-range jobs a basket rescue is the answer
and only last night I wrote:
Quote:
and it's only suitable for short range rescues - inshore, within an oilfield or where rescue ships are nearby.
It is fully acknowledged that it is a short range solution for mass rescue.
I'm not suggesting that it should be used instead of a winch for rescue. It is a far quicker way of shifting large numbers of people short distances - as mentioned previously. Not to mention floods on 'dry' land.