And if the cause of this accident turns out to be disorientation due to trying to fly VFR in what, by some (including me), is considered either an IFR or NVG environment..........what then?
Can this job be performed VFR? Clearly it can but the demands on the pilot are very high.
Should it be performed VFR? In the last century there wasn't much option but we are in 2018 not 1978 and all the technology to make this a much safer operation is there - it will just cost more - but not as much as the loss of an aircraft and crew!