Incident Overview
On April 5, a pilot departed Coffeyville, Kansas, for a ferry flight to deliver an airplane to Lincolnton, North Carolina. After landing at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, due to enroute weather, the pilot remained overnight. The following morning, the pilot departed Cape Girardeau after a weather briefing that indicated marginal conditions in the eastern portion of the flight.
Flight Details
During the flight, after receiving an update, the pilot attempted to climb over reported cloud tops of 15,000 ft. At 14,000 ft, the pilot noted the clouds were still above and elected to fly between layers. After encountering a solid cloudbank, the pilot found a hole and descended below the clouds. The cloud bases kept getting lower.
Collision with Terrain
Upon entering a valley and while flying up the valley, the pilot noted that the trees were in the clouds all around. The pilot entered a climb and collided with trees at 3,500 ft MSL. The minimum VFR altitude for the area was 3,900 ft MSL.