They basically say it was press-on-itis (« objectif destination »)into very strong turbulent conditions caused by the Mistral over the terrain, probably associated with ignorance of the local conditions, that led to loss of control and a tailboom strike by a main rotor. With 50 kt winds not uncommon, over pretty hilly terrain, it can get really rough there and you wouldn't want to be bouncing around in anything at 500 ft (last witness said about 150m) - let alone an R22! The synoptic chart included, indicates severe turbulence from SFC-10,000ft.
Last edited by 212man; 12th Nov 2012 at 21:49.