As long as we're speculating...

Pilots do stupid things from time to time, like try four times to take off from an unmowed grass strip wet with morning dew (after forgetting to switch back to both mags after runup) and finally getting off the ground enough to crash.

But my gut tells me that conditions were VFR and the fog was probably only in the low-lying areas. The engine quit on takeoff ($$ on water in the fuel) and the pilot flew the plane all the way to the ground. The fact that they survived and the fuselage was not terribly crunched indicates that the plane came down under control and not in a disoriented spiral dive.

P.S. Sue - The whiskey in the bottle would appear perfectly level in classic disorientation scenario - That's why it happens - It still feels like you are level!