FGD
From what I have read in this thread, it appears this operator had a policy of taking off with autofeather (AFX) disengaged - for the reason that other King Airs in their fleet were not AFX equipped and they wanted the takeoff procedure to be standard across the fleet. There are sound safety arguments behind this approach.
I think that comment from the EN thread (is that the thread you were referencing?) was in relation to the AAV crash, not the EN crash, but please correct me if I'm wrong.
Megan,
Please let me just clarify your statement, you can have "Raisbeck mods" without requiring the AFX on the B200. James developed more than just props on the B200!
A more correct statement would be B200s fitted with Hartzell-Raytheon or Hartzell-Raisbeck 4 blade props require auto feather.
A B200 fitted with McCauley 4-blade props does not.