Hughes - I didn't say it was safe - I clearly said it came at extra risk that was deemed acceptable because of the military need. The Gazelle was used because it was quick to launch, smaller and less obtrusive than Lynx or Puma and the Army had loads of them. It was also used for specific tasks which, as Mostafa explained, there was a great deal of training for.
A dying person ramps up the risk/reward comparison and for a single instance, the increased risk could be easily justified.