During the inquiry following the failure of the rescue mission, photographic evidence showed that the pilot did successfully enter the vortex ring state and catch up with the freefallers. No-one had realised that these poor unfortunates with the defective parachutes were all avid readers of Rotorheads. Recognising PPRuneFan#1 in the cockpit, they simply refused to climb on board the rig.
They were all later found embedded in a chicken coop, 100 metres short of runway 31.
