DIVERT NEARBY ARPT ACCOUNT IMC CONDITIONS AT DEP POINT.

Narrative

THE FLT BEGAN AS A SIMPLE PATTERN-ONLY FLT. THE ACFT HAD JUST UNDERGONE A 100-HR INSPECTION AND I WAS ANXIOUS TO CHK OUT A FEW OF THE ITEMS THAT HAD BEEN REPAIRED. ORIGINALLY; I HAD PLANNED TO LEAVE FOR THE ARPT AROUND XA PM; BUT UNFORTUNATELY I WAS DETAINED AT HOME UNTIL XC PM. ON MY WAY TO THE ARPT; I LISTENED TO THE LATEST ATIS RPT. THE WX WASN'T PERFECT; BUT BECAUSE I WASN'T PLANNING ON LEAVING THE PATTERN; I WAS SATISFIED WITH WHAT I HEARD: CEILING 2100 FT BROKEN; VISIBILITY 5 MI; WIND 290 DEGS AT 13 KTS. THE RPT WAS FOR AN ADJACENT ARPT (5 MI AWAY); BUT SINCE THERE WAS NO OTHER WX RPTING CAPABILITY IN THE AREA; IT WAS THE BEST I COULD GET. THE DRIVE TO THE ARPT IS NO MORE THAN 10 MINS AND AS I WAS PARKING; I NOTICED AN SMA ON FINAL APCH. I ASSUMED HE WAS VFR BECAUSE THE ONLY INST APCH TO THE ARPT IS A VOR CIRCLING APCH THAT COMES IN FROM THE NW AND THE SMA APPEARED TO BE DOING A STRAIGHT-IN APCH FROM THE NE. SINCE MY ACFT WAS HANGARED; IT TOOK A LITTLE LONGER THAN NORMAL TO PREFLT; BUT I ESTIMATE THAT I TAXIED OUT AT APPROX XC45 PM. IT WAS DUSK OUTSIDE AND THE RWY LIGHTS HAD JUST BEEN TURNED ON. I TURNED ON THE INTERIOR PANEL LIGHTING AND TO MY DISAPPOINTMENT; THE INST LIGHTS AND THE POST LIGHTING WOULD NOT DIM. APPARENTLY; THEY WERE WORKED ON DURING THE INSPECTION; BUT THE RHEOSTAT WAS STILL NOT WORKING; MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO DIM THEM. SINCE IT WAS STILL FAIRLY LIGHT OUTSIDE; I ELECTED TO LEAVE THE LIGHTS ON. BEFORE I TAXIED OUT; I ATTEMPTED TO GET THE LATEST ATIS; BUT EITHER I WAS AT A LOW POINT ON THE ARPT OR THE ATIS WAS BEING UPDATED BECAUSE I WAS UNSUCCESSFUL. DURING THE RUNUP; I CHKED AGAIN; BUT HEARD NOTHING. A VISUAL INSPECTION OF THE SKY PROVED USELESS AS WELL DUE TO THE CLOUDS AND THE DARKNESS. AS I WAS CLBING OUT JUST BEFORE TURNING XWIND; I NOTICED THAT THE POST LIGHTS AND INST LIGHTS WERE STILL ON AND WERE EXCEEDINGLY BRIGHT DUE TO THE INCREASED DARKNESS OUTSIDE. REACHING UP TO THE CEILING MOUNTED SWITCH; I TURNED THE LIGHTS OFF AND ADJUSTED THE FLOOD LIGHTS. BY THIS TIME; I WAS PASSING THROUGH 700-800 FT AGL AND AS I LOOKED BACK OUTSIDE; CLRING FOR MY TURN TO XWIND; I NOTICED THE REFLECTION OF THE STROBES IN THE SKY IN FRONT OF ME AND REALIZED THAT I WAS NO LONGER IN VMC. TRANSITIONING TO INSTS; I MADE A TURN BACK TO THE ARPT AND AS I RECALL; THE ALTIMETER WAS READING 1400 FT MSL (800 FT AGL). I IMMEDIATELY ATTEMPTED TO REGAIN SIGHT OF THE ARPT; BUT COULDN'T SEE THE LOW- INTENSITY RWY LIGHTS. LOOKING BACK AT THE INSTS; I REALIZED I HAD DSNDED 100 FT AND WAS IN A 20 DEG BANK. AT THIS POINT; REALIZING THERE WERE SEVERAL TWRS IN THE VICINITY AND THE WX HAD OBVIOUSLY DETERIORATED GREATLY; I MADE THE DECISION TO CLB; TRANSITION BACK TO INSTS; AND CALL APCH FOR AN IFR CLRNC. I CALLED APCH; INFORMING THEM OF MY SIT. I WAS IMC AND NEEDED AN IMMEDIATE IFR CLRNC TO THE INITIAL APCH FIX OF THE ILS AT THE ADJACENT ARPT FROM WHICH I HAD ORIGINALLY RECEIVED THE ATIS BROADCAST. APCH CAME BACK AND CLRED ME TO THE IAF SPECIFYING THAT I REMAIN VFR. AFTER INITIALLY ACKNOWLEDGING THE CALL AND AS I WAS CONTEMPLATING WHETHER APCH HAD MISUNDERSTOOD ME; I RECEIVED ANOTHER CALL FROM APCH ASKING ME TO CONFIRM THAT I WAS VMC. I IMMEDIATELY RESPONDED IN THE NEGATIVE; SPECIFYING THAT I WAS STILL IMC AND NEEDED A CLRNC; AT WHICH POINT I RECEIVED ANTHER CLRNC DIRECT TO THE IAF. BECAUSE THERE WAS ANOTHER ACFT ON THE APCH TO THE ARPT WHICH I WAS LEAVING AND BECAUSE THE APCH FACILITY IS NON RADAR; I BELIEVE THERE WAS A MINIMUM SEPARATION CONFLICT AND ACCORDINGLY APCH HAD THE OTHER ACFT COMMENCE HOLDING. THE WX AT THE TIME OF MY LNDG WAS 700 FT BROKEN; VISIBILITY 2 MI IN FOG. AFTER LNDG; THE APCH CTLR INFORMED ME THAT BECAUSE I HAD ENTERED IMC WITHOUT A CLRNC AND BECAUSE I COULDN'T MAINTAIN VMC WHEN HE QUERIED ME; HE WOULD HAVE TO NOTIFY THE LCL FSDO OF THE INCIDENT. LATER; I REFLECTED ON THE EPISODE; I FEEL THAT MY DECISION TO FLY; EVEN THOUGH I WASN'T PLANNING ON LEAVING THE PATTERN; WAS A POOR ONE; CONSIDERING THE WX INFO I HAD. THE DECISION WAS INFLUENCED BY THE FACT THAT I WAS LATE IN GETTING TO THE ARPT AND THAT I WANTED TO GET IN AT LEAST 1 PATTERN BEFORE DARKNESS. AFTER MY ILL-FATED TKOF; I QUICKLY REALIZED THAT I WAS HARDLY READY TO FLY AN APCH AT NIGHT IN THE WX. FORTUNATELY; I HAD ALL MY CHARTS; FLASHLIGHTS; AND APCH PLATES WITH ME; BUT UNFORTUNATELY; THE APCH PLATES WERE IN THE SEAT BEHIND ME! DESPITE THE FACT THAT I WAS INITIALLY UNPREPARED TO FLY THE APCH; I FELT THAT IT WAS A MUCH SAFER OPTION THAN SCUD-RUNNING AND SEARCHING FOR THE ARPT IN MARGINAL TO IMC CONDITIONS AT NIGHT. HAD THERE BEEN DAYLIGHT TO SEE THE CLOUDS IN FRONT OF ME AND ABOVE ME; THIS SIT PROBABLY WOULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED. HENCE MY NEWLY FOUND VIGILANCE FOR ACFT OPS AT NIGHT AND DURING POOR WX CONDITIONS.