As a former SAR pilot an example I can give you is a body recovery in a mountainous area. It was either send in a ground party of 6 100 metres down a steep decline, who would need several hours to complete the job, or 10 minutes with a crew of 4 on board of the helicopter to recover the remains and airlift the casualty to a landing site.
As a crew we felt it was the proper decision to use the helicopter. We might have been called out for a subsequent rescue of the recovery party anyway..
But they were some of the most tense 10 minutes of my life.