Hyuga, in the co-pilot's seat, with Misato and Shinji in the foreground.
HYUGA:“Yes?”
MISATO (BACK):“Withdraw immediately once you've released the Eva.
Ascend until you reach a safe altitude.”
UrsusArctos: Yet another instance of "the main characters do everything". Hyuga being qualified to sit in the pilot's seat is a bit of a stretch - they could've gotten a nameless pilot to follow Misato's orders just as well.
imprimatur13: Obviously, what happened is, they put out a notice on the NERV PA system: "We need someone to pilot the helicopter to pick up Captain Katsuragi. Any-"
Hyuga: "I'll do it."
Maya: "But you don't know how to fly a helicopter!"
Hyuga: "Maya, there comes a time in every man's life when he must do the impossible, disregarding all thoughts of personal safety. That time, is now."
singing quietly to himself: "Do the impossible, see the invisible; Row Row, fight the power..."
ath: To be fair, the scripts says he's sitting in the co-pilot's seat. Note that he's actually sitting in the left seat, which in reality is the captain's seat in virtually every fixed-wing aircraft. Right-hand-drive confusion on part of the storyboarder, I guess...
imprimatur13: Well, I see your point... Counterpoint! Misato tells Hyuga to withdraw the chopper, not the pilot (who we don't actually see at all). Apparently, he is expected to know how to pilot it on his own. Somehow.
