I read the takeoff incident, & can understand how the incident occurred. I consider every night takeoff from a platform, drilling rig, or ship to be an instrument takeoff. The PF flies on instruments from the initial rotation, & the PNF calls torques/N1, positive rate of climb, airspeed increasing, and then airspeed at Vtoss, Vmin, and Vbroc, and altitude in 100' increments, up to 500', then states "last call". Until above 500', no radio calls, checklists, or anything else occurs. For unannounced heading changes of 10 degrees or more, the PNF calls "check heading".
We don't do "towering" takeoffs. I consider that maneuver, at least as I understand it from the descriptions, as leading to disorientation. We do more or less a normal takeoff from the front edge of the helideck, & the nose only goes down to ~5 degrees. At 5 degrees nose down, airspeed increases satisfactorily, and descent doesn't happen if the power is kept in. I don't like maximum power, since it diverts attention from the flight instruments to watch the engine instruments so closely to avoid exceeding limits. It is critical that a positive rate of climb and Vbroc are maintained, however.
For approaches, I like a somewhat steep and slow approach. To me, the danger of an engine failure is lower than that of hitting an unseen obstruction in the dark. A night approach in any model is a 2-person maneuver. The PF sets up the approach, and the PNF monitors the flight instruments, & calls altitude in 100' increments, airspeed in 10 knot increments, & rate of descent in 100'/min increments. All this is important, since it's possible to become fixated during the approach, and not realize the descent or airspeed is going out of limits. Our maximum rate of descent at night is 500'/min below 500', & I aim for 200-250. I set the pitot tube on the far edge of the deck, & keep it there during the approach. And I agree with 212man, 300' to start the approach is too low - that's only 200' above the deck at a maximum, & we have lots of them 200' MSL. I start at 400'-500', depending on the rig. I usually set the radalt to 300' for the approach, because I want to know if I get that low. For takeoff, I set it to 500', because I want to know when I get above that.
Night operations vary greatly. Some nights are almost as bright as daylight, with clear skies & a full moon. OTOH, I've seen nights that were so dark any visual operation was out of the question until short final. Night approaches in these conditions can be very difficult - no visual cues for rate of closure, speed, descent, nothing. And it's very easy to get autokinesis, and the platform starts to move around - very uncomfortable. Anyone can get spatial disorientation under these conditions, no matter the experience level, & that's why a crew is necessary, and I mean a crew, not just 2 pilots. If the other pilot is just sitting there, we'll have a chat later. It hasn't been necessary yet, because he knows what's expected, & also that his life depends on his cooperation. A highly autocratic captain can get into very deep trouble at night, and I try to avoid that.
I'm not trying to tell anyone else how to fly, this is just the way I do it, trying to keep on staying alive.