It amazes the quantity of resources that will sometimes be deployed to rescue a sole man (or a handful) lost at sea. Not to say this is a bad thing; I would certainly appreciate it if I were lost at sea. But it might be questionable to a pure utilitarian.
I counted at least one plane, two ships, and a helicopter all being diverted for the rescue. That's a great deal of expense in terms of fuel, I assume hundreds of crew, and lost time in whatever they were supposed to be doing.
One might argue that the pilot himself is a valuable resource to the military (cost of training plus his experience, fighter pilots aren't cheap) but there are similar rescues of civilians every once in a while.
I counted at least one plane, two ships, and a helicopter all being diverted for the rescue. That's a great deal of expense in terms of fuel, I assume hundreds of crew, and lost time in whatever they were supposed to be doing.
One might argue that the pilot himself is a valuable resource to the military (cost of training plus his experience, fighter pilots aren't cheap) but there are similar rescues of civilians every once in a while.