FL,
Your position: The pilot acted unlawfully.
My viewpoint/position is that a helicopter can only be '
at rest after landing', once the rotors and engine(s) have stopped. I would still appreciate your interpretation of 'rest' in the case of a helicopter, as in "comes to rest after landing".
I am sure that if you had a family member on board an aircraft that took to the air or moved under it's own power with no-one at the controls, and they were killed or seriously injured, you would have a completely different outlook on the legality of this type of operation.
30-May-13 PR-DJC Eurocopter EC130 Guaramiranga, Brazil | Helihub - the Helicopter Industry Data Source
The aircraft was on the ground and the rotors were turning, when the pilot left the cockpit in order to assist the passengers to disembark. The aircraft tumbled to the left, when nobody was in control. One of the passengers already in the helicopter - José Carlos Pontes, 61, president of the group Marquise - suffered serious injuries after one of the main blades amputated his leg
SGA NOTÍCIAS: Empresário José Carlos Pontes ferido em acidente passa por cirurgia e não corre risco de morte
Acidente com helicóptero deixa empresário ferido - CNEWS
Balada In | Pompeu Vasconcelos | Helicóptero cai em Guaramiranga
Flight Safety should never be allowed to be a matter of luck!