So there are a couple aspects of this. First of all inadvertent flight into IMC in a helicopter is much more dangerous and much less common than in a fixed wing aircraft. It's almost a chicken or the egg scenario; it is more dangerous because it is less common, and it is less common because people really try to avoid this because it's more dangerous. A commercial pilot of a fixed winged aircraft with similar flight hours to this helicopter pilot would fly in IMC all the time, albeit most of these hours would be intentional flight into IMC. However, flying in IMC in helicopters is pretty much reserved for two pilot situations in the military.
Maybe a better way to explain this is the difference in protocol between helicopters and fixed winged aircraft's during inadvertent flight into IMC. If an instrument rated fixed wing pilot is flying a VFR flight plan and flies into IMC, they will continue their current heading, altitude, and airspeed, contact ATC, and request vectors to VFR. Basically all they have to do is not panic and keep the wings level. As an aside, a commercial fixed wing aircraft will probably just file for an IFR flight plan, especially in the busy airspace around LA. It would just be safer and easier. However in a helicopter, the procedure is more complex. The training that this pilot received, and that he taught other pilots, and was procedure at his company was the following: reduce forward airspeed to zero (i.e. enter a hover), maintain neutral position to horizon, and gain altitude to punch out of the clouds. Unfortunately he did not follow this protocol during the accident. He tried to gain altitude while also having a positive forward airspeed, so instead of trying to punch out of the clouds going straight up, he tried to punch out going forward and up at the same time. This would've worked except...there was a mountain in the way 🙁
Finally, there are three other unique things to helicopter operations that contributed here. The first is for whatever reason it's really common to be single pilot in commercial helicopter operations. Anyone with as much money as Kobe, but really anyone, should only fly commercial when the operation is always dual pilot. There are multiple reasons for this such as pilot incapacitation, but really the more common and important reason is that having a second pilot reduces the workload for the pilot flying. The second pilot can handle communications, navigation, and other workload in the cockpit. The second thing is that as far as I'm aware, this helicopter was not equipped with a TAWS or Train Avoidance and Warning System. The system would've warned the pilot that he was about to fly into a hillside. The third thing is that helicopter operations are often done at much lower altitudes than fixed wing flights. This is are a number of reasons, but obviously low altitude flying is pretty sketchy in a hilly area like where the crash occurred.
A bad anesthesiology analogy out of this, especially when I am just a medical student, would be this: inadvertent flight into IMC in a fixed wing aircraft is like going for a DL intubation and then realizing that you need to use VL instead. Yeah it's not ideal, probably would've been better to see the future and know that you needed to start with VL (and the flying world equivalent of this would just be to always fly IFR). But sometimes there are instances where DL is normal and low risk, and also VL is something anesthesiologists get plenty of practice with. So it's not like the backup plan is some fringe event that you only train a few times for a year at most. But in a helicopter, inadvertent flight into IMC is more like a can't intubate can't ventilate situation that leads to a surgical airway. Yes technically anesthesiologists are trained to do a cric, but it was probably something you've only done a few times in your career at most, for many people it will be something you have only done in simulation or on a cadaver. On top of that, it is so uncommon there is going to be a much bigger adrenaline dump. Even the best trained anesthesiologist or pilot will feel a little more flustered and might not react in the exact way you were trained.
Thank you for coming to my fixed wing vs helicopter inadvertent flight into IMC Ted talk 😀
