Original Message

Here is my guess, based on flying in that area for years. LACFD states the aircraft went down near Baldy and Glendora roads. Hard landing.  There is a helicopter LZ at Cow Canyon Saddle, in that general area. Used by fire/police all the time.  Good place to do a PR.  Big enough for a Type 2 medium, so a 407 can use it no problem. LZ around 4500', if memory serves me. Morning temperature maybe 70 degrees? That puts the DA at 6500+. Winds, if they existed, can be tricky, swirling because the LZ is on a saddle. No wind? Now you need more power at the end of the approach. If this indeed was the area the pilot tried to land at under those conditions, that a tough demand for a 407. If this wasn't the area, who knows why it crashed, other than not enough power to arrest the rate of descent. Glad the pilot wasn't seriously injured.

Note to AMC management-the aircraft you use to cover the high desert have no business conducting scene calls in mountainous terrain, especially in the summer months.