The pilot would certainly be flying svfr for entrance into class a airspace or vfr outside. TCAS has no relevance at all as it replies on other TCAS equipped aircraft for avoidance which a crane would not have. Earlier points have mentioned IFR/IMC VFR/VMC, let me clarify as a qualified aviation expert, IFR/VFR are the rules that the a/c is flying under, IMC/VMC are the conditions that the a/c is flying in. The reason why an a/c clan fly under IFR in VMC is easy, for example consider an a/c flying into LHR on a clear day in VMC as it is in class a airspace he must fly IFR. There are different rules for helicopters than fixed wing owing to the diffferencies between the flying characteristics. I won't talk about SVFR as it's a bag of worms really and after 25 years in the business can still cause long discussions. I haven't really had time to look closely into the incident but my first impressions are that the crane jib should have been lowered as it was not lit albeing the actual crane itself was. I would hope that the crane was not positioned in any way to encroach on any of the std helicopter routes. The 500' rule does not apply to an a/c taking off and landing. Hope this helps, Rgds ILS