Terrible tragedy. Good to hear the little lad is making a recovery, but at a huge cost to his future.
I am a relatively new PPL who is currently finishing my IR(r) and I have a young son and wife who I have taken in the 172 a couple of times, only in good VFR and local area flights.
It reads like 'get home itis' that contributed to the pilot even taking off in those conditions, particularly with his family on board but the AAB report will no doubt cast some light on the facts surrounding this incident. Does anyone know if he was IMC or IR (even if the plane wasn't certified for IR I presume it could have had some instruments fitted?).
Was this a kitplane?