Originally Posted by bluecode
He was probably perfectly aware of the building in his path and the crane. But perhaps the jib wasn't visible until it was too late and he just clipped it.
Whereas I know very little of helos beyond training in R22 - I do know quite a bit about mast head cranes and big buildings - the witness damage to the jib broken in two about half way long its length tells me that it suffered one hell of a knock - this together with the luffing supports sheared off allowing the rest of the jib to hang vertically down confirms this. I reckon the machine hit just about as square on as could be possible at a fair rate of knots.
A very sad business together - there by the grace.