My boys flying @ the same time.
I grew up in SoCal and learned to fly there so I'm familiar with both the weather and airspace.
I got 8 years flying helos there 6 outta Tustin. Am also an MOS'ed Aviation Safety Officer.
So, again, I have to ask, if there was no scud to run, why would he be intentionally going IFR to VFR on-top, and why would he be still be disorientated once he descended below the 1,100' ceiling and back into VFR conditions?
Scud running assumes breaks in the overcast. He got into the shit trying VFR in SVFR @ best. Doesn't take much of doing those transitions to initiate vertigo. The angle of impact screams vertigo. I'm sure his 'IIMC and unusual attitude recovery' was done with a hood during VFR, it isn't the same. The only reason to go that way was your passenger paying the freight didn't want to fly overwater. If he got to VFR-on top why didn't he stay there and just take the violation?
I define scud-running as trying to stay below the clouds and above the ground without crashing into it.
In the report to which I linked you can see in the photos that there were no breaks in the overcast, hence no transitions from VFR to IFR and back again.
He never got to VFR on top. He flew into the solid overcast in an attempt break-out on top, became spatially disoriented, went into a dead-man's spiral and crashed.