Bonanza 36
Flight Crew Commercial
Physiological - Other; Situational Awareness
Inflight Event / Encounter CFTT / CFIT; Inflight Event / Encounter VFR In IMC; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Flight Crew Returned To Departure Airport; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Human Factors; Weather
On a flight in a single-engine piston airplane with one passenger; I [advised ATC ]due to flight into IMC. I was flying between 500 ft. AGL and 1;000 ft. AGL along the northern edge of a line of low weather; attempting to find a good passage more or less along my planned route. Visibility to my right was at least 10 miles with ceilings rising and the cloud cover breaking up. Visibility to my left was 2 miles or less with ceilings descending to ground fog. I turned to a route I thought would work along a valley; and what began as rain and mist turned quickly into cloud. I was caught in IMC between the fog on my left and the better weather on my right; but the terrain was near and rising. As I turned to escape the cloud; I found myself in disorienting IMC with terrain ahead and I decided that the best action would be to use my CFIT training and get out of there. I climbed in IMC; stabilized the airplane on a course back to [departure airport]; and contacted Center to obtain an IFR clearance. I [requested priority handling] since I had a passenger and I was flying IFR in a single-engine piston airplane. The flight back to [departure airport] was uneventful; and I broke out of the clouds at 3;000 ft. on the 20R ILS.The decision to turn around should have come earlier. After the flight; as I reviewed the situation and the weather data for the day; I concluded that I probably should not have accepted the flight at all. I flew one flight earlier in the day; and found the weather similar and variable enough to navigate between scattered or broken layers and around clouds and fog in Class G airspace but with plenty of options. A more careful review of the weather data at the time of this flight; especially in light of the conditions I found; teaches me that the odds were not in my favor and the decision not to fly was the best. Looking back on the overall weather picture; I should have consulted with some more wise and experienced pilots for their reading of the scenario. I let my desire to complete the mission lead my reading of the weather prognosis.
BE-36 pilot reported turning back to departure airport after encountering fog and low ceilings on a VFR flight.