I spoke to a Norwegian crew many many moons ago who hit cables crossing a Fjord. They impacted at the base of the tail cone just at the base of the upstrut supporting the entire TRGB section.
Within seconds, they recalled watching the TRGB section pass them down the side of the a/c before they were flung violently to one side of the cockpit as the a/c started spinning. They eventually managed to perform some semblance of borderline stability whilst still spinning slowly, in full EOL mode onto the water. Both survived. The co-pilot became unconscious almost the moment the spin established itself, but it was helped with him hitting the windscreen side strut with his head.
These AStar guys must have become unconscious within seconds and left some pitch on the blades for the helo to rotate so violently. They surely couldn't throttle back - even to FI never mind shut off.
I wouldnt have backed a hard object into that threshing machine for fear of an explosion. I would have expected my team to have dumped thousands of litres of foam at 80psi onto the cab and suffocated the engine intake of air.
The more I think about it, the more I think the fire crew were derelict in their duty.
What a sad waste of life.
A haunting video. RiP.