Are these aircraft equipped with EGPWS?

It’s not an airliner.

Yes, EGPWS is standard equipment on the S-76D, as is a CVR and FDR.

This wasn't a -D, this was a S76B, from 1991.

Photos of the cockpit in old registration...avionics could have been updated: https://www.helis.com/database/cn/51524/

HaH

Many helicopters of that class have EGPWS.

To anyone suggesting "sightseeing" as an explanation for the circles seen on the flight path, I think another possibility could be that they were put into a holding pattern by ATC waiting for traffic to clear. Might be a more probable explanation given the weather.

Witnesses on the ground reported the engines “spluttering” before the crash

You might want to check again which color that is what on FR24...

In a press briefing this morning the sheriff stated that 1 pilot plus all 8 pax have perished in this accident. Total 9 fatalities.

Last data points showing sink rate 5000 fpm and 160 kts GS, and erratic GS and VS just prior, that is not a helicopter being flown normally. Actually the data points don't make much sense at all.

ATC recordings have them requesting Special VFR after being told multiple en route areas are reporting IFR conditions

FR24, unreliable with signals in a hilly area. I wouldn’t take too much from the info given. What it does show is an increase in speed right at the last moment and a decrease in altitude (dive?) but FR24 cant reliably be taken as real accurate Flight Data info.

How meaningful is request for special VFR?

9 up in a B model. That's pushing range and CG.

It's meaningful because it suggests the weather was unsuitable for visual navigation, and the pilot needed to see where he was going to get to where he wanted to go. Which, I would think, is a more challenging option than changing flight category, turning around, and perform an instrument approach back where you've departed from.

Liveatc Hold and request Special VFR through BUR and VNY
 

https://forums.liveatc.net/index.php...0;attach=10604

References to 5, 134, 118, 405, and 101 are Freeways.

101 runs from Van Nuys westward past crash site to Camarillo, the apparent destination.

I live about 80 miles/130km SE from the crash site, but the terrain and microclimates are similar. I was mountain biking and there was a low-lying fog layer about 100-200 feet thick, with a broken around 3000-5000 feet (my estimate).

Another mountain biker and IFR-rated pilot was interviewed. He was first on the crash scene and said there was very dense fog with 3-4 feet of viz. They heard the S76 just before and during impact but did not see it. However, witnesses in the general area (I know those accounts turn out inaccurate) saw the helo "falter" and "sputter", and then steeply descend. So there seemed to be good visibility elsewhere.

The coastal scud in that area blows in from the west along Hwy 101 and hugs low-lying terrain. My very early speculation- they were VFR on top over a patchy ground fog layer in the canyon. A mechanical issue forced a descent into IFR and terrain.

Proving, for the umpteenth time, that FR24 ground, altitude, and airspeed traces are not always reliable for interpreting the actions of an aircraft prior to a crash.

Eh???
There are seats for 14 in an S76, be it a B or not. The B has the PT-6 engines and can happily carry the full load, no cg problems, but with less than full fuel. With 5 less pax, there is plenty of fuel and no cg problems at all.

Could the "sputtering" be a bit of blade slap as he did a few tight turns?