The memory of Hugh Mills has no doubt been subjected to the unpredictable influence of what Kurt Vonnegut once called the "cronosynclastic infidibulum". Any attempt to unravel Mr. Mills' experience would encounter certain time distorted memory effects that tend to frustrate normal expectations of temporal linearity and sound phsyics.
Should one neglect high humidity, gross weight, drag (open doors, guns, etc.), pilot reaction time and the like; Mr. Lappos is not far off the mark with his estimate of the height achievable in an OH-6A after an engine failure from 40 feet and 50 knots.
In my opinion, at 40 feet and 50 knots a reduction of collective and straight line deceleration would prove more for more efficient at conserving rotor RPM for pitch-pull, present less time in the sights of enemy weapons, and require significantly less pilot workload to perform.
It would however make rather dull reading.