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PA28R pilot reported a GPS failure with a subsequent penetration of a restricted area and an unauthorized landing at a military field.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1427440 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201702 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.TRACON |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | PA-28R Cherokee Arrow All Series |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Route In Use | Visual Approach |
| Flight Plan | VFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | GPS & Other Satellite Navigation |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Private |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 24 Flight Crew Total 245 Flight Crew Type 31 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Airspace Violation All Types Deviation - Procedural Landing Without Clearance |
| Miss Distance | Horizontal 7 Vertical 3000 |
Narrative:
VFR flight was planned when GPS malfunctioned midflight. I (pilot) was not able to figure out my position. I tried to fix the GPS issue; but it was unresponsive. I decided the best course of action was to immediately land at the nearest airport to correct the issue. While calculating my position utilizing dead reckoning; I spotted an airport with two runways. As I was unable to identify which airport I had in sight; I was unable to determine the airport's communications frequency. I descended and checked the windsock for a safe landing. I landed safely on runway 15. After I parked the airplane; I noticed several personnel in military uniform; and after speaking with a police officer; I realized that I was in a restricted area and a military base.the cause of the GPS failure is still unknown. After landing; and communicating the issue with my instructor; he recommended that I should have completely turned off the avionics to restart everything during the flight. I was concerned this might cause me to lose other systems; possibly communication. My best recommendation for correction of the issue in the future would be to practice an electronics/avionics failure and recovery during flight. Also; I should have filed the flight following for the unfamiliar area.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: PA28R pilot reported a GPS failure with a subsequent penetration of a restricted area and an unauthorized landing at a military field.
Narrative: VFR flight was planned when GPS malfunctioned midflight. I (pilot) was not able to figure out my position. I tried to fix the GPS issue; but it was unresponsive. I decided the best course of action was to immediately land at the nearest airport to correct the issue. While calculating my position utilizing dead reckoning; I spotted an airport with two runways. As I was unable to identify which airport I had in sight; I was unable to determine the airport's communications frequency. I descended and checked the windsock for a safe landing. I landed safely on Runway 15. After I parked the airplane; I noticed several personnel in military uniform; and after speaking with a police officer; I realized that I was in a restricted area and a military base.The cause of the GPS failure is still unknown. After landing; and communicating the issue with my instructor; he recommended that I should have completely turned off the avionics to restart everything during the flight. I was concerned this might cause me to lose other systems; possibly communication. My best recommendation for correction of the issue in the future would be to practice an electronics/avionics failure and recovery during flight. Also; I should have filed the flight following for the unfamiliar area.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.