Originally Posted by
FH1100 Pilot
Tough as it is to admit, Kobe's pilot screwed-up, plain and simple. I'd bet that he had his head down, fiddling with either his iPad or something on the centre console (GPS? VHF?). And when he looked back up it was, "Oh, $&*#, we're in it!" Then he began his left-turn course-reversal, which might have worked at 70 knots, but not 130 because the turn radius was too large and it put him in the hills on the opposite of the valley. Wouldn't be the first pilot to make such a dumb mistake; won't be the last, sadly.
It probably is just that simple. And, he may have been lulled into a false sense of security, i.e. the ceilings may have been low but the vis not too bad for the mission up to that point, because I can't imagine why else he'd be hustling along at 130'ish under those conditions. Although he did have that hold to deal with which may have made their arrival late, adding additional pressure to fly fast.
P.S. I must be the exception to FH1100's helicopter pilot stereotype, because I always am measuring my own performance, rarely do I think "Well, damn, I really nailed that mission perfectly." There is always something that could have been done better.