Considering your knowledge and experience, from the radar video available, it seems that the two aircraft were flying almost directly toward each other, with the commercial aircraft making a slight left turn before impact. How could the helicopter pilot not see the airplane? I’ve heard people talk about night vision and limited peripheral vision but I have a hard time with that considering the radar and the distances involved.
Considering this, along with the fact that this was so close to an airport/runway, I have a hard time believing this was not deliberate...
Complacency. Target-fixation, i.e., “I have the aircraft in sight” and not looking around to ensure it’s the correct aircraft. If goggles were down, that restricts vision and with all of the ground lights there, the plane could have blended in.
I’ve been involved in a few incidents where I had to clean my pants afterward. It can happen to the best of us. In my opinion, this was not deliberate. It was an unfortunate accident where everything lined up on one point and time in space.
Take what you see on the flight tracker videos. Often, you can’t see altitude separation.