A J35 bonanza pilot inadvertently entered IMC conditions and lost control shortly after takeoff on a...

Attributes
ACN	1067020
Time
Date	201302
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	PWT.Airport
State Reference	WA
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Bonanza 35
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Initial Climb
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Commercial
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 36 Flight Crew Total 2000 Flight Crew Type 505
Events
Anomaly	Inflight Event / Encounter VFR In IMC Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control

Narrative:

The weather at the airport was unlimited clear. It was night and the sky was black with stars. I departed and about two miles north of the runway; while climbing; encountered totally unexpected IMC. I momentarily lost control of the aircraft; recovering near the ground. After regaining control and locating the airport I returned for an uneventful landing.two other aircraft departed shortly before and after me. Both later reported to me that they encountered the same completely unexpected IMC. They also returned to the airport and made uneventful landings.we all agreed that there was no way that any reporting service or person on the ground at the airport could have seen the cloud we encountered to the north in the darkness.there is no system that I know of that could have warned us of the IMC conditions. However; for my part; instantly and instinctively switching from visual to instrument flying would have precluded this incident. The key is reacting to an unexpected situation.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A J35 Bonanza pilot inadvertently entered IMC conditions and lost control shortly after takeoff on a dark moonless night. The pilot recovered control near the ground and returned to his departure airport.

Narrative: The weather at the airport was unlimited clear. It was night and the sky was black with stars. I departed and about two miles north of the runway; while climbing; encountered totally unexpected IMC. I momentarily lost control of the aircraft; recovering near the ground. After regaining control and locating the airport I returned for an uneventful landing.Two other aircraft departed shortly before and after me. Both later reported to me that they encountered the same completely unexpected IMC. They also returned to the airport and made uneventful landings.We all agreed that there was no way that any reporting service or person on the ground at the airport could have seen the cloud we encountered to the north in the darkness.There is no system that I know of that could have warned us of the IMC conditions. However; for my part; instantly and instinctively switching from visual to instrument flying would have precluded this incident. The key is reacting to an unexpected situation.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

A J35 bonanza pilot inadvertently entered IMC conditions and lost control shortly after takeoff on a dark moonless night. The pilot recovered control near the ground and returned to his departure airport.