Rotor,
Let me put it this way for you.
As I was not there and thus have no knowledge of what he was actually seeing weather wise, and not knowing what he was thinking, it is of not much use for me to speculate about that.
That being said, there is no way in Hell I would have done what he did which was to enter Cloud, Fog, or whatever it was that prevented him from seeing where he was going. That is what is baffling about all of this as it just plain does not make any kind of sense at all that he would have done what he did.
One just does not do that kind of thing in the location and weather he was at that day.
Gordy uses a very good saying....."Ass, Tin, Ticket!".
When you get into a real Pickle you save your Ass, try to keep from harming the Helicopter, and ignore the Legal Rules even if it means losing your license for a while.
If I had dropped down to the River looking for a way to slide into the Heliport and then found myself with no where to go....I would have hover mosey'ed along the River until I found a way out and suffered the consequences of my actions. I would never punch into a Cloud or Fog Bank thinking it a wise or safe thing to do.