Gee, lot of fantasy in speculation from some here , including the daily mail , that obviously do not know how ATC works and what is Special VFR.
Special VFR for a Heli is absolutely normal , you need to stay away from clouds and 1 Mile 1,5km ( less than a NM) visibility . both Burbank and Van Nuys reported 2,5 Miles and 1100ft ,, and on teh ATC tape, pilot reported VMC a couple of times, no stress in voice indicating otherwise. Holding was not due to bad weather but to stay out of Burbank class C airspace because of a few dep/arrivals. Not related to accident at all, Socal ATC advising flight was too low was not related to weather or terrain but too low for flight following on radar and possibly even radio /VHF.
If you want to speculate , how about this one : I would say the usual, commercial pressure for destination , entering deteriorating conditions , lost sight of ground and attempted a 180 to get back , wrong side , was too close to he hill for that.
Addition :
[email protected] just saw our post crossed , we are on the same line of thought I see