I think some folks here are over-reacting a tiny bit. It ought to be borne in mind that this sort of stuff is actually bread and butter stuff to military helicopter pilots and I don't think that we should need to make such a shock horror story out of it. It was ill-advised at best and possibly illegal (don't hang him without knowing the facts), but not particularly dangerous. Quoting the engine failure case is a bit spurious, the chances of that happening just there are really very small indeed. I and many others have spent much time in single engined helicopters or very underpowered twins winching folks up and down over rocks and water and ships and flying underslung loads with hookers up working under the aircraft. By the same argument this is unacceptably dangerous? Actually more chance of more folks getting hurt if a donk stops than by flying under a bridge.
On the other hand, the EMS pilot who went into the river last winter after hitting the ice with a skid as he attempted to go under a bridge too far was just plain stupid and not up to his own opinion of himself. He proved it with tragic consequences.
I don't condone any of it but I must say I see more dangerous stuff on the M1 just about every day. We seldom hear of a car or lorry driver having his licence pulled for ever, even where loss of life occurred as a result of bad driving. For example, one silly girl I saw tonight was drifting between the two narrow outer lanes of the M1 through road works. She was sending a series of text messages on her mobile phone and totally oblivious to all else going on around her and to the danger she was putting herself and others in. IMHO she deserved a large mallet applying to her phone and her cranium.
I can understand Roofus being wary though; he shouldn't go anywhere near bridges. Knowing his luck the tail rotor would probably let go again just at the critical moment
