Yes, he was severely pissed off before because John was younger I think and was being very reckless and careless in violating codes and regulations. He as well as Landis's crew tried to talk to him, reason with him, point out things like safety issues, child labor laws, even the pilot said he was not sure and to top it off to make it look more real, Landis had live ammo instead of simulations. The scene with Morrow carrying the children with the wind from the helicopter and the light from the explosion could have been replicated in a studio during regular working hours (child labor laws dictated working hours for child actors)but he was afraid of it not looking real. I think the friendship dissolved before the actual accident because though Spielberg can be tough with his adult actors, he is very different when there are kids involved and this is before there were stricter rules, laws and regulations. He did sit for a deposition for the civil trial but I do not think he was part of the criminal one.
I know that Landis regrets his actions and wish he could take it back, not just for his name but because of the deaths involved. He was young, arrogant and wanted to outdo others on FX when FX was just getting started after Star Wars and I do not believe he thought this would happen but it did. Spielberg, as hard as I have heard he can be at times, did say in an article I read that he would rather an actor refuse or argue with him about a scene not being safe than to just do it or have a potential safety issue that he does not see accidentally hurt someone. What I like about Spielberg is that he admits that he does not see everything all the time and when something is brought to his attention he will look at it.
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