Seems a Circular discussion going on here.
Was bad Decision Making that caused the Crash or a Loss of Control during the Takeoff?
It appears to me the situation needs to be parceled out into several lanes of discussion.
One relates to the Weather and Darkness and being at an unlit off airport departure point.
Then we ought to consider the Take Off Procedure.
Also we ought to discuss use of the Force Trim, Auto Pilot, and Flight Director. Is this another indication of a Crew not understanding how to best utilize the capabilities of the Aircraft Systems?
We cannot get away from hashing out what rules, regulations, orders, directives, instructions, and advisories pertained and how they were dealt with.
There is no way to point a single extended digit and identify the exact single cause of the Crash as there were many factors, causes, and failures to be able to isolate the cause to a single thing.
One question I would ask is whether the two Pilots were victims to a system that set them up for this tragic event by loading them down with concerns that diverted their attention from the basic requirement of just flying the machine.
Had they been so influenced by all sorts of profiles, SOP's, and rigid adherence to Procedures that they really were not able to just fly the machine. Had the Crew become to indoctrinated in Standard Procedures they could not realize it was a non-Standard situation that required a different method for Take Off and they were unable to figure one out that might not necessarily comport with the Standard Procedures?
They were products of a training and certification system that claims to prepare and ensure Pilots are capable. They were in a very new and sophisticated twin engine helicopter. The maneuver they were performing should not have been beyond their abilities although not one they did on a regular basis.
It is not just the Pilots that need to be critiqued here, but also the system that put them in that situation. The Pilots made some mistakes certainly but they sure had a lot of help in that happening.