I think that the whole witch hunt by the IAA on N-reg an faa pilots is a waste of time. Most of our IAA inspectors are current FAA pilots they also fly in N-regs from time to time when it suits. All helicopters are supposed to be maintained to manufacturers manuals no matter what reg it it on.
I wonder if the story would be so big if it was a G reg or EI reg.?
This machine was maintained by a extremely reputable firm in UK, so it was looked after.