But if not, this is what they do:
> the plane’s crew dropping a bundle of medical gear into the water near the ship, and then four pararescuemen from the 131st Rescue Squadron jumping out themselves. Once in the water, they swam to the Franz, boarding it and treating the fisherman.
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/air-national-guard-parachute...
(1) https://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=88E4...
There are also parachute SAR techs. They will jump out of fixed-wing aircraft with ranges of 1000s of miles. They cannot get you home, but might keep you alive. (Brave people, jumping into situations where they know rescue could be days away.)
Helos on navy ships are the drop-dead last resort because, after them, there is nobody else to call. If they go down, the next wave of help will be days away.
USS Houston was carrying President Roosevelt from Panama to Hawaii on a secret route, and the airship commander launched an unauthorised scouting mission to search for his ship, found it, and dropped a bundle of current newspapers and magazines for him.