It has all the makings of one of those Aircraft Accident scenarios where you have to identify all the potential contributing factors. I was always taught that you should expect a spirited attempt to kill yourself due to a mixture of over-confidence and lack of imagination around 100 hours (check that box), 500 hours, and 1,000 hours.
a. Total of 87 Hours - 9 on type.
b. Total of 3 Friends in the cabin.
c. "Approximately 15 minutes later the helicopter arrived at a boar shooting ground where the pilot intended to hover, so they could wave at some friends."
d. Overweight aircraft and underweight estimating.
e. "made a downwind approach, with full carburetor heat applied, to an Out-of- Ground-Effect (OGE) hover."
f. "outside the declared flight envelope of the helicopter."