Horror Box, I don't think the helmets necessarily saved the lives of Henry nor his crewman. There was no cyclic stick in the rear cabin, and Henry is/was quite a bit taller than Tom, so different seat stroke geometry, and had the controls in his hands, which may have influenced where cyclic was relative to body as his body reacted to seat stroke.
What I was trying to point out was that even with a helmet, you can still get a blow to the head that will be an obstacle to your surviving the crash. (Had Tom and Henry ended up over dry land with as firm a landing, Tom would have lived thanks to not breathing in water after impact).
Point taken, and perhaps a bad example for me to use, and I agree that a helmet wont always save you, but if, say, approximately 70% of your melon is covered in kevlar, then I would say that reduces your chances of a blow that could render you unconscious by a fair amount!
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We have used STAS for 4 years now, and are about to start wearing helmets. Who knows what benefit there would have been for this unfortunate crew, but I hope we can move away from the "it might worry the passengers" mentality that seems to have prevailed for some time now.
That is good news, and I didn't realise you lot were using STAS. Maybe you could have a chat with our management. We are however starting to see the use of helmets here, although only on a very limited basis, and only if you have some sort of hearing issue based on a statement from a doctor. Having used a helmet for a large part of my career in my former flying job, I felt a little uncomfortable at first without one, and still wonder what my chances are in the event of a crash. My theory being that with pretty much any forward motion at the point of impact, you are going to get a fairly firm kiss from various parts of the cockpit, most likely from the circuit breaker panel behind as you head whips backwards and quite possibly the top of the instrument panel. In this instance a helmet will certainly help, and could very likely be the difference between remaining conscious or otherwise.