Corrected entry: At the very beginning of the movie Chuck Norris asks Steve James where his friend is and Steve tells him that he is stuck in the helicopter but the flames are too high for anyone to reach him. When Chuck enters the back of the helicopter there are not a lot of flames between him and his friend, certainly not enough to stop anyone from reaching him.
jaws65
13th Sep 2003
Correction: It wasn't so much that the flames were that high or bad, but Steve mentioned that they were near fuel lines, and there was now the risk the helicopter could blow up at anytime.