I live 10 min from the crash site and work 5 min from there. If my office faced the other way I could see the site. As a local GA flyer in this area I know the terrain well and as a hiker in those hills I am very familiar with the location.
I just happened to be in my office Sunday morning about 30 min after the crash ( didn't know it at the time of course) and I can tell you that the hills that are across the 101fwy from me were blanketed in fog ( or june gloom as we call it) and they are less than 1000msl. looking out my window, I thought to myself no way to be flying in this soup this morning.
I am very curious about this pilots decision making, I suspect ( but don't know for sure) that had he continued to track along the 118 fwy on the north end of the valley, gone over the Santa Susana pass (2500 gets you over that and keeps you out of the Burbank class C shelf ), he would have been in the clear over Simi Valley and could have gone the long way round to KCMA. Coming out of VNY in low cloud days that is typically what I do , once over Simi, you are usually in clear skies and can go on your way.
People asked if he could have followed the coast, but id suspect it would have been socked in also, He chose the right route, but just took it too far.
I've driven past the crash site, and the fightradar24 location and the actual location seem a little off on the pictures I've seen. Reports that he just missed the top of the hill are a little misleading, he may have missed the top of that particular hill buy 30 ft but 100 yards beyond that hill is another one 1000ft higher. he basically plowed it in to the middle of the range.
Had he hit the top of the next one he would of wiped out some multi millon $$ homes, ( back side of "the Oaks" community)
Even being familiar with the area, and if the helicopter wasn't equipped for IFR, surely a simple iPad for foreflight would have kept him clear of the terrain
Pretty sure this is going to get blamed on the pilot, on multiple levels.
Very sad for all involved.