What happened
The owner/operator of a flying service provided aircraft for broadcasting stations in the area. A radio station had contracted with the operator to provide a helicopter, N59610, and a pilot to take a news reporter on a local traffic watch. The operator reported that on the morning of the accident, the ceiling was ragged and he suggested to the news reporter that the take-off be delayed until daylight. The reporter rejected the suggestion, since an aircraft for a competing broadcasting station was already airborne.
The operator had a policy of not flying a helicopter when the ceiling or visibility was less than 300 feet or 1/2 mile, but the decision for flight was left to the pilot. Before sunrise, N59610 was cleared as leader of a flight of two for a special visual flight rules departure in foggy conditions. The pilot was not instrument rated.
After departing, N59610 entered dense fog and subsequently crashed on wooded, rising terrain about 1 mile south of the departure point. At Cincinnati, the 0555 weather was, in part: 600 feet overcast, 1-1/2 mile visibility with fog; at 0655 the ceiling and visibility were 200 feet overcast and 1/2 mile with fog.
The investigation
The pilot was not instrument rated. The decision for flight was left to the pilot despite the operator's policy of not flying a helicopter when the ceiling or visibility was less than 300 feet or 1/2 mile.