maxwel - some posters on here refer to themselves as SLF so it is hardly derogatory.
I am not advocating the hover jump as standard procedure - just a consideration when the gearbox is going to seize and the sea state is too big to guarantee a safe power on ditching - will your pax survive the aircraft disintegrating and rolling over as you hit the water with your main and TR blades, possibly damaging the flotation gear as you do so? With difficulty I would suggest and then they still have to find the liferafts and get into them. On the other hand, being given a fighting chance of dropping 20 feet into the water from a hover taxi along with the rafts might improve their chances of survival. I know what I would prefer if I were the pax.
Or should you comply 100% with your rules and regs and involve them in the crash?
On the Sea King, once the ELS has operated, you must monitor the MRGB oil temp - if it gets to 150 deg C you have 5 mins to land. The same 5 mins is the estimated run-dry time at 75% Tq before seizure.