Oh no.
Well, a lot could go wrong actually, even to an experienced chain saw person. If you don't make the right cut, the branch can twist and come down in a completely different way than you were hoping.
The fact that the guy is not wearing protective gear, is not tethered, etc., does not give me great confidence. Hope it works out for the best and he lives to fight another day!
Years ago, we lived next to a newly married couple who had bought their first home. They were wonderful people and neighbors. However, like most first-time buyers, they didn't have much for expendable income and tended to use "cheap" as the deciding factor in their home projects.
They had a slowly dying maple tree in their back yard that was of decent size; I'd say 30 to 40 ft tall. They got a quote for $500 from a professional. The tree sat between their house and the power lines. These were also narrow lots and they had houses on the three lot lines next to the this tree. $500 seemed like a bargain to me. To them, it was a fortune.
She had a coworker who "grew up on a farm" who agreed to cut down the tree for free. One morning, I was making my way to the garage to run to the store and saw a woman up in their tree. She seemed to be cutting limbs indiscriminately. She was wearing shorts and a tank top with no ladder or safety harness.
"Your friend is making me nervous." I said.
"I know, I'm just trying not to watch." said the neighbor.
I drove to the store about 10 minutes away where I got a call from my wife "So, there's an ambulance next door..."
Turns out the woman had her husband tie a rope to a large limb and pull on it as she cut. When she cut it, the limb swung back and nailed her in the thigh, cutting all the way down to bone. She was lucky it didn't knock her out of the tree she was standing in, about 20 ft off the ground. She got a ride to the ER and many stitches.
They hired the professional company the next day.
TLDR; Don't DIY tree removal.
