I flew right by that area the day before. When I got a weather brief all seemed well for a visual flight. And it was on the ground, but after about a thousand feet or so Above ground level the visibility was so poor due to haze that I would have turned around if I hadn’t been instrument rated.
I remember getting up early that morning. FOX was covering the recovery at that time. Most of the video was being taken from a helicopter. I took one look at the visibility and flight conditions and told my wife, spatial disorientation. He had no business flying VFR in those conditions. IMHO.