With so many posters laying 100% of the blame at the operator's feet, I shall go out on a limb and say the passengers had responsibility to be aware of the potential dangers of the flight. They should also have been cognizant of where and how they were strapped in, and known the location of the knife mentioned in the briefing.
If one is going to engage in activities that might go awry, it's incumbent to familiarize oneself with safety features and devices which might mitigate the possibility of harm.
Many years ago I booked a ride in a PT-17 Stearman to experience my first taste of aerobatics. The pilot instructed me on egress technique from the front cockpit and the operation of the seat parachute. After we discussed what his bailout call would be and I strapped in, from that moment forward I was prepared to leave the aircraft if the need arose.
There's no doubt the passengers probably treated their safety briefing and the video as a version of the flight attendant speech they had heard dozens of times. Human nature, I suppose. But if one is planning to hang from the door of a helicopter to take photographs, being unprepared and ignorant of possible life saving actions is a mistake that might prove fatal.
However, I acknowledge their plight was severe, and that once the helicopter rolled upside down there was essentially no chance any of the passengers would survive.
A terrible tragedy.
Last edited by ThreeThreeMike; 13th Mar 2018 at 04:09.