What happened
A pilot was engaged in the process of flight-delivering a light twin engine airplane to a new owner as part of a sale agreement. After securing a special ferry permit for the VFR flight, the pilot departed in an aircraft equipped only with an altimeter, airspeed indicator, a turn and bank indicator, and a hand-held VHF transmitter.
Following an overnight stop, the pilot arrived at the airport to find weather conditions reported as near zero-zero in fog. As the weather began to show signs of improvement—with the ceiling becoming more defined and visibility increasing to between 1/4 and 1/2 mile—the pilot observed the conditions and stated, "It looks to be a thousand feet," before initiating a climb.
The aircraft was seen performing a right downwind departure, reaching an altitude of approximately 500 feet AGL before it disappeared into the fog. The airplane subsequently impacted trees and terrain roughly 1/2 mile from the airport. At the time of the accident, weather at the site was reported as having 1/4 mile visibility.