A common checklist item is to secure any "FOD" (Foreign Object Debris"). For example some pilots will strap their clipboard or iPad to their legs as a "kneeboard".

I used to be in military SAR and the powers that be required helo crews to keep their EFBs/iPads in a clip with suction mounts, similar to what you see in cars for phones.

Those regs are well established. Whether these guys were following them remains to be determined.

Oof. Suction cups? I can already hear it coming loose and hitting the floorboards.

I’d be pushing for something more robust like a clamp-on/bolt-on RAM mount or something. We put RAM mounts on forklifts for iPads and barcode scanners, and they’re nigh indestructible.

Suction cups are extremely secure when used correctly (clean flat smooth surfaces). GoPro advertises theirs as secure in a 150MPH wind when used correctly.

I would hope they are something really robust like the suction cups used to move large pieces of glass around. Still seems like an odd choice given the variety of temperatures and pressures experienced in flight.

The cockpits are environmentally controlled- otherwise the equipment inside could overheat or freeze.

The mounts we used went through an airworthiness and crash survivability review. The ones I'm familiar with had dual suction cups and the cups themselves were pretty significant.