Not making assumptions, however if the pilot elected to break a golden rule it’s extremely disappointing! When will people ever learn? There was an accident in Australia a few years ago where a highly experienced pilot who was flying a helicopter for the ABC that crashed doing a similar activity.
Experience is no excuse for blatant stupidity, not that I’m assuming this was the case in this accident. I’ve seen to many cases where pilots have broken the golden rules, VFR into IFR and idiots mucking around below LSALTs in IMC.
I can also admit that I used to be one of those stupid idiots and was lucky enough to survive on multiple occasions and have learnt. I have had a few good friends killed doing exactly the same, hence I don’t tolerate this behaviour anymore. I’m one of the lucky ones as I have survived to tell the story, some haven’t.
No excuses for breaking the golden rules under normal conditions in 2019, the pioneering days and elementary GPS days have long gone. Personal standards will only keep pilots safe, not rules and SOPs.