What happened
During an instrument flight rules departure, the aircraft encountered extremely poor visibility, characterized by fog that limited horizontal visibility to 0.25 miles and vertical visibility to only 100 feet. Shortly after departing the runway, the aircraft began a minor leftward turn. During this maneuver, the plane struck the tops of trees, which were approximately 25 feet in height, located roughly half a mile from the departure runway.
A witness at the scene reported hearing the impact and observed the right wing striking the ground, which subsequently ignited a fire. Following the initial impact, the aircraft underwent a cartwheel motion across the terrain for several hundred feet before finally coming to a rest in an inverted position.
Findings
Data retrieved from the aircraft's enhanced ground proximity warning system revealed that the flight initially achieved a positive climb profile. However, the data also confirmed that after the initial left turn, the aircraft entered a descent. A post-accident inspection of the engines, propellers, and airframe revealed no mechanical failures or anomalies that would have prevented the aircraft from operating normally. The primary factor in the accident was the impact with terrain during a descent in low-visibility conditions.