I forgot to add that to go back in the flopper, he probably would have lost control of the raft. You can bet he had a death grip on it and there was no way he would let it go floating down the river without him.
If anyone is still following this:
The video link I posted was of the wrong tour company.
I googled NY tours and the copter make and model and the result indicated that was the only tour company using that equipment.
Wrong.
Also the latest news reports that the crashed chopper had emergency deployed floats and they were deployed, only one side collapsed causing it to tip over and end up upside down.
So as usual, it demonstrates that until the facts are known guessing is dangerous.