LIFE FLT HELI NOT FAMILIAR WITH ARPT GIVEN INSTRUCTIONS BY TRACON TO STAY CLR OF UNFAMILIAR ARPT AREA; THEN CLRS ACR FLT FOR TKOF AT ZZZ.

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WE WERE ON A HELI MISSION. WE USED XXX DEP FOR RADAR ADVISORIES ENRTE TO HOSPITAL. WE WERE HANDED OFF TO CTR AND THEN TO ZZZ APCH. THEY THEN HANDED US OFF TO ZZZ TWR. DURING THIS TIME; I RPTED A SLOW DSCNT TOWARDS THE HOSPITAL. I'VE NEVER FLOWN OVER THIS CITY BEFORE AND COULD NOT MAKE OUT THE ARPT THROUGH THE MULTITUDE OF LIGHTS. I HAD BEEN ADVISED OF TFC AT MY 1-2 O'CLOCK POS WHICH I NOTED. BEING WITHIN A FEW MI OF THE HOSPITAL; TWR TOLD ME TO STAY N OF RWY 28 AND DID I SEE THE TFC LIFTING OFF FROM THE ARPT. I SAID NO TFC OBSERVED. THE ARPT WAS NOW SOMEWHERE BEHIND ME; MAYBE 7 O'CLOCK POS I WAS GUESSING. AT THAT POINT I SHOULD HAVE SLOWED TO A NEAR HOVER; BEING I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE THE ARPT WAS OR THE TFC. I DID SLOW DOWN; BUT CONTINUED ON MY 255 DEG HDG. THE TWR ASKED AGAIN IF I HAD THE TFC; I SAID NO; BUT BY NOW I HAD FLOWN FAR ENOUGH SW TO BE XING THE EXTENDED CTRLINE OF RWY 28. TWR THEN ASKED IF THE AIRLINE PLT SAW THE HELI. THEY SAID YES; WE WERE WELL BELOW THEM AS THEY CONTINUED THEIR CLB. TWR THEN CAME BACK TO ME AND SAID HE TOLD ME TO STAY N OF RWY 28. I SAID I WAS UNFAMILIAR WITH THE AREA. DURING ALL THIS; I WAS ALSO TOLD BY TWR TO WATCH FOR A HELI OPERATING NEAR THE AREA. OUR COM BASE WAS ALSO GIVING ME INSTRUCTIONS OF FINDING THE HOSPITAL. AS EVERYTHING SEEMED TO HIT THE FAN AT ONCE; I NOW KNOW TO STOP WHERE I AM -- WHERE I'M SAFE -- BEFORE PROCEEDING ON. I WAS DISAPPOINTED THE TWR LET THE AIRLINE TAKE OFF INSTEAD OF HOLDING HIM FOR 2 MINS. THE AIRLINE PLT TWICE REPEATED 'THAT WAS REALLY STUPID.'