Bob, when does the bleeding obvious ever register in your risk addled brain?
Leaving a helicopter running, and it subsequently taking off and killing you is VERY OBVIOUSLY fraught with danger otherwise you would not have been killed.
No matter what the ICAO states permits, the overall requirement is to comply with the CofA, upon which it states thou shall operate IAW the Flight Manual.
To operate outside the limitations of the flight manual you would need the agreement of the "Holy Trinity" being, the Type Certificate Holder,the state in which the Type Certificate was issued and of course, the State in which you operate.
Therefore, it does not matter that FAA allow this practice, they are also duty bound to ensure that the practice does not occur on those types with a prohibition in the Flight Manual, unless they have agreed, along with the other two ofthe Trinity.
What you fail to accept is at best, this practice is inherently extremely hazardous, and it worse, people get killed to maimed. Therefore given the experience you have surely you would council against such a practice, to those of us less senior than you, instead of peddling the bush pilot mentality that it is safe. It is not. The family of the pilot you feel the need to support in his excision, would no doubt strongly disagree with you.
The arguments made in support of this practice just go to show the stupidity some people will accept to get a job done. For example, operating a SEH out on a limb in the Artic such that shutting down would cost you your life is just plain stupid when you consider the myriad of malfunctions that could require an immediate landing ( and by your argument) certain death.
The only thing we have to do to ensure these horrible accidents keep happening, which lets face it do nothing to promote our industry, is to do NOTHING. To keep on peddling the bollocks that jobs cannot be done without this risk.
I mean in Oz, the only reason to do the is because time is money. There is no other acceptable reason. Counting cows for Christs sake!
So instead of preaching heresy lets hear you stand up for the progression of safety so that other young men do not get killed because a few old and bold sweats have neither the balls or intelligence to argue against it and tackle the underlying reasons and circumstances that lead you to believe the practice is necessary.
DB