The airplane was substantially damaged at 1045 Central time when it collided with the ground shortly after takeoff. Visual conditions prevailed. The Commercial pilot was fatally injured; the pilot-rated passenger received serious injuries. According to witnesses, the airplane was about 100 to 150 feet above a tree line near the crash site. The airplane appeared to be nose-high and slow, and no engine sound was reported. Witnesses stated that the airplane nosed up slightly, rolled left, then pitched nose down and then collided with the ground.