Date: 201706
Local time of day: 1201-1800
Flight conditions: VMC
Weather elements / visibility: 10
Light: Daylight
Aircraft: Helicopter
Operator: Personal
Operating under: Part 91
Flight plan: None
Mission: Personal
Airspace: Class G ZZZ
Reporter organization: Personal
Reporter function: Pilot Flying; Single Pilot
Reporter qualification: Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Commercial
Human factors: Situational Awareness; Confusion
Anomaly: Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Detector: Person Flight Crew
When detected: In-flight
Contributing factors: Human Factors
Primary problem: Human Factors

Narrative: I was located on private property and was asked to allow 2 passengers to hang from the skids of the helicopter and drop in to a pond of water that was approximately 30 feet deep. I have flown skydivers before and thought; to the best of my ability; that I wasn't violating any regulations at the time and that proper arrangements were in place to keep the action fun; but as safe as possible. The exit technique was the same; the only difference was they were just dropping from 15-20 feet in to a large private pond compared to 6;000 ft with a parachute. It was a closed event; the two jumpers were professional athletes; and we spent 30 minutes on the ground before the stunt reviewing coordination between myself and the two jumpers and proper safety techniques and different scenarios. Additionally; I had standby personnel on site for the jump including a trained lifeguard ready to take action if need be once the two jumpers were in the water. There was absolutely no alcohol involved; weather conditions were perfect and low winds; and the intent was to do something fun while pushing the boundary just a bit to what has been done before. Looking back; I've made my career as a commercial pilot and instructor by teaching people how to operate the aircraft within the boundaries and realize that the stunt was not probably the safest thing- Risk not worth the reward. I teach my students that good pilots are good decision makers; and I might've allowed my personal boundary to be pushed too far in this case. I also recognize that I was familiar with the technique; had professional athletes; safety crews on standby; and the operation went without a hitch and both jumpers had fun and were perfectly safe. I believe that this might've been too much assumed risk and that I might've violated a regulation by not ensuring that they were wearing seat belts during the take-off. I also can see where; in the incorrect context; it seemed reckless and that the risk might've been too high without more protocol in place. I have learned from this experience; and would like to move forward developing as a pilot. Even though this stunt went flawlessly; I understand that there is a lot to learn and I will not allow my boundaries as a pilot and responsible person to be pushed to doing something that might cause undue risk to people that are involved.




Synopsis: Helicopter pilot reported allowing two professional athletes to hang from the helicopter skids and drop 15 to 20 feet into a pond located on private property.