Illegal or not, the pilot appears to have operated the aircraft in such a way as to exponentially increase the risk profile of the flight. This should not be acceptable when carrying passengers.
Those who say he was a good pilot, well, I dispute that. There is much more to flying than manipulating the controls. He was not a good pilot because he failed to recognise that his thrill seeking behaviour put innocent lives at risk. He was not a good pilot because he, confused or not, decided to fly a helicopter with an invalid licence.
I know what I would be doing if I was the family of the innocent deceased.