Boudreaux Bob: I had a special instrument card. I was one of the experienced pilots in my squadron who could have been tasked with a mission where a 0/0 takeoff might have been on the menu.
Never did one "for real." Practicied a bunch of them in the sim, and with the hood/blinders on during instrument checks. It helped that the aircraft I was flying at the time also had a doppler system with full coupled hover capability. It was still a spooky/demanding maneuver to get right, and you needed to have your instrument scan running smoothely.
The Special Instrument Rating language in the OPNAVINST 3710 series included in the authorization for 0/0 take offs, both rotary wing and fixed wing, the matter of operational necessity -- a requirement before one could be authorized/attempted.
Operational necessity had a strict definition. The importance of the mission rendered the risk of losing the crew and aircraft acceptable. Usually, that level of risk decision was at the wing or a flag officer level. Squadron Ops officer? Not.
Let us apply the above line of thinking to the commercial pilot/captain in this accident.
Let us suppose that he had practiced and was reasonably proficient at combining an obstacle clearance take off with an instrument take off. (I will set aside for a moment the hard to get around rule for that model of aircraft of VminI from the RFM, 50 KIAS, which would be like a limitation in the NATOPS manual or the -10 for you or I in those military years).
He's in an unprepared field, his vis is crap, it's now night (with IIRC an original "before sunset" launch time). He is in a position to do one of those "0/0" like take offs, or choose not to.
Does his mission meet operational necessity requirements? Is what he was doing worth risking the loss of crew, pax, and aircraft?
I think you would be on side with the majority of us by answering "no" in this case. His employer probably never considered that line of thinking, unlike how flag officers and wing commanders in the service considered such things before authorizing or rejecting permission for such ops.