Don't know how long this has been in the game, but it's a cool feature.

[StellarRat]

He wrote a program to automate the mapmaking process. That's why there are so many.

So they're kind of random then?

[Belmakor]

I hate to admit it, but I did notice that when your Chinook gets shot down there is a chance some of the special ops soldiers will survive. Very cool and realistic! Also, noticed that the hot fix fixed the not being able to buy personnel problem as well as the aircraft retreating CTD. Very nice. All I'm seeing is good stuff as the game matures.

Did this actually happen to you (the soldiers survive that is?). I heard it as a suggestion but didn't know if it was implemented.

[Buzzles]

Did this actually happen to you (the soldiers survive that is?). I heard it as a suggestion but didn't know if it was implemented.

V12 Patchnotes:

Dropship Destruction: It’s no longer effectively game over when you have your dropship shot down, as your soldiers can now survive a crash and be rescued by local forces. Troops now have a better than average chance of surviving a crash, but are likely to suffer injury while doing so.

[Heldelance]

Oh man, that's awesome having such a mechanic in the game. I'd never actually noticed it before.