Flungdung - shouldnt have made any difference if it was hailing, snowing or the darkness of night. A good preflight is mandatory EVERY time you get into a helicopter to go fly.
Also you would think that as he hit the igniter he would have noticed that the RPM gauge wasnt moving and the blades werent going around.
Hasnt been reading Pprune lately - would agree with that. Also have to add that he probably doesnt read an unamed magazine as we devoted six pages recently on the importance of doing a good preflight.
Still you can lead a horse to water but you cant make it drink. So whose fault is this one. Companies for not ensuring he did a proper preflight or the pilots for not doing a proper preflight.
Autorotate.