Airport....large well lit, fully instrumented, controlled area with visual approach aids, electronic approach aids, certified weather reporting, runway friction measuring, air traffic control and approach monitoring, used by fully instrumented crew served multi-engined airplanes monitored and assisted by company dispatch personnel, ground handling personnel, baggage and cargo personnel, and service facilities.
Helicopter landing site.....slightly fewer services and facilities than airports.
You wonder why we seem to do goofy things sometimes? You cannot have it both ways and still fly "helicopters". We start flying where the road ends (to quote a dear friend!).
Topend,
Would the crew have noticed something a bit odd on take off if the static ports were blocked? On a nice VFR night in a helicopter....it should have been noticable and easy to cope with as compared to the Boeing Jet that had the problem in South America. The re-enactment of that flight scares the Bejesus out of me just watching it on the TV.