"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
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On Thu, 31 Oct 2019 08:57:36 +0000, NY wrote:

"michael adams" wrote in message
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[quoted text muted]

My first thought when I heard about the incident was "send a helicopter
winchman down", without thinking of the downdraught. I think the problem
with having the helicopter higher is that the winch cable is then much
longer so any movement in the helicopter or winchman being blown in the
breeze/downdraught like a pendulum is going to be much greater so it
will be much harder for the winchman to stay in exactly the right place
as he is trying to "hit" the chimney to secure his line so he can "land"
safely and jettison the line.

Unless (as I mentioned upthread) you secure the bottom end of the line
somewhere near the base of the chimney, lift the helicopter and slowly
move so that the line comes close to the person in distress, and then
send someone down to rescue them ? Negating the pendulum effect ?

That assumes the chopper can land next to the chimney which is
very unlikely. And they dont like the idea of effectively chaining
the chopper to the ground either, very dangerous to do that.

At the end of the day, any technique used would have been a one-off and
impossible to have exactly risk assessed beforehand.

Even typing this, I wonder if it might have been possible for a
helicopter to have dropped one end of a cable - suitably weighted - into
the chimney so rescuers could climb up the outside (taking note that the
condition of the brickwork at the lip may not have been 100% ...)

It can't be too bad given that there was temporary ladders there.