Reverse flight.. I guess what I was trying to piece together in my own mind is the reasoning behind flogging around out there at night if in they were in fact planning to land in an unlit area. (I don't know about the final destination being unlit as Desert Flower's extract points out that they were heading back to a Station which may very well have been a lit area).
yes I agree with you, nightsuns are not used for enroute navigation. but a nightsun or the use of NVG's are usually a CASA / ops manual requirement to be able to land a helo in an unlit area if said operation has the approvals and ops manual that allows it.
I'm not speculating on the cause, because I have no idea and do not wish to speculate. I feel for all the families.