Air ambulances should consider not winching patients who are too fat, according to a Government inquiry into a man's death near Mansfield in August.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau report follows the death of Robert Davis, 68, who fell 30 metres to his death after he slipped out of a helicopter safety harness on August 31. He was being winched to safety with a paramedic after breaking his ankle at Macs Cove, near Lake Eildon.

Mr Davis is thought to have weighed between 120 and 140 kilograms. He had almost reached the doorway of the hovering helicopter when he slipped out of the harness.

The keen hunter, from Riverwood in Sydney's south, fell 30 metres to the ground, where he died from injuries suffered in the fall.

According to the report's conclusion, "the size, weight and medical condition of the persons being winched may indicate that other recovery options offer reduced risk."