photos
Rigger:
The photos came to me and I did crop them for posting. But I didn't exclude any of the tree. Sorry I don't have any more of a whole tree picture or description.
I thought aggie did very well as the first responder. What he suggested didn't happen obviously, but it was a solid legit concern.
The cutter looks skilled from what we can see in the photos. As you point out, he went above that one hole on the off-side to get more wood and less chance of a surprise. His face looks to be perfect for the situation. I know of no way to cut something like this without getting some type of collapse. {I'm ruling out cutting at the base}
Perhaps the lean is so substantial that the faller knew this was going to happen and that direction was assured because of the lean and with that he would be fine.
Even with that, "I'm going to suggest, I wasn't there, that while this cutter looks very good from the photos that despite that this tree should have been dropped by a D-7 Cat or similar piece of falling equipment."
I think that it was just too close to a limit for any chain saw operation.
Swan Penn’s burn it some more is done at times. Usually it is with a fire still going at the base, (I've not heard of a re-start - but that is possible), and a decent bit of stoking with a crew that expects it to come down in 15 minutes and it takes 2 hours.
Hitting it with another tree accurately and powerfully is what most fallers do, despite rules on that. Of course, that is problematic.