Narrative:

Let me first state that I did my best to comply with my interpretation of what hpn tower controllers asked me to do. At no time did I intend to deliberately disregard any of their commands. The situation arose from my misinterpretation of how to enter the pattern for runway 11.I was approaching hpn from 1b1 on a 193 heading approximately over the town of armonk.I was given the instruction fly south; enter a left downwind for [runway] 11; and keep downwind inside the numbers of 16. Since I was flying south; I perceived 'inside the numbers of 16' to mean 'to the east' since from my approach to the field; inside 16 is the area to the left of 16 (east). However; in hind-sight; to the tower; which is located to the south of runway 11; 'inside the numbers of 16' meant keep your downwind to the south of 16.my interpretation of the instruction was to fly a very short downwind leg after crossing over the numbers of 16 from north to south. As I approached the field; knowing that my downwind was going to be very short; I began to descend below pattern altitude in preparation for landing. Upon reaching the numbers of 16; I gave a position report. [I said] 'arrow 190 ft over the numbers 16.' tower replied by giving the instruction 'cleared to land 11 hold short of 16;' to which I replied that it would be difficult to hold short at this angle. Attempting to keep my pattern inside the numbers of 16 and holding short of 16 didn't seem possible. At that point; tower gave me 'cleared to land 11 full length available.' I had already passed over the numbers of 16 at this point; and began my base leg and descent to land on runway 11. I was then given the instruction; '0FT; go-around.' seeing a clear runway in front of me; I replied that a landing was still possible to which the tower replied; 'negative; go-around; fly full runway length; and make left traffic.' I immediately put in full power. My airplane had been configured for a very rapid descent and short approach; so I had full flaps; gear down; and power at idle; and I had not yet made the prop full. The airplane had not begun to generate enough power to produce a positive rate of climb. My altitude was approximately 100 ft. AGL at this point. I began to make the configuration changes to the airplane for climb; gear up which takes time; and then taking out the 3rd notch of flaps. I think the tower perceived that I was not complying quickly enough with their instruction. At this point (approximately 10 seconds later) they requested; '0 ft; go around; I need you to climb immediately;' to which I replied that I was working on it. I was reconfiguring the airplane for climb. The next request from the tower was to make left traffic for runway 11; inside the numbers of 16; and to copy a number when ready.I believe the tower perceived the time it took for me to reconfigure the airplane for climb as a deviation. I assure you; it was not. I made every effort to comply with tower's instructions.this situation is simply the result of my interpretation of 'inside the numbers of 16' to be stay to the east of 16; vs the towers view; which was keep your downwind to the south of the numbers of 16. When I gave my position report over the numbers of 16; had the tower replied with 'enter left downwind 11;' [that was when] I realized that my interpretation of the instruction was incorrect. However; being given the clearance to land after crossing the numbers for 16 confirmed to me that I was flying the pattern they wanted; and I should land with a very abbreviated downwind.after I copied the phone number for tower and had a conversation with them; they emphasized two things. One; is that they always expect a full pattern. In the future; if my interpretation of any instructions indicate a less than full pattern; I will ask for clarification. Second; if the tower asks for a go-around; it may be due to something that I cannot see from my location on the field; and because of that a go-around should never be questioned; even if it is in an attempt to accommodate the flow of traffic or to 'help out' the tower. [I should] just simply comply with a go-around as quickly as possible.though I am no longer a student pilot; I am still attempting to learn as much as possible; and this situation made clear to me that I still have a lot to learn. Though we all want to expedite traffic flow at busy airports; at no time should that occur at the expense of compromised safety. If a situation seems unusual; then key the mic and ask the ATC facility to clarify.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA28 pilot reported misunderstanding ATC instructions for entering traffic pattern and issuance of go-around instructions.

Narrative: Let me first state that I did my best to comply with my interpretation of what HPN tower controllers asked me to do. At no time did I intend to deliberately disregard any of their commands. The situation arose from my misinterpretation of how to enter the pattern for Runway 11.I was approaching HPN from 1B1 on a 193 heading approximately over the town of Armonk.I was given the instruction fly south; enter a left downwind for [Runway] 11; and keep downwind inside the numbers of 16. Since I was flying south; I perceived 'inside the numbers of 16' to mean 'to the east' since from my approach to the field; inside 16 is the area to the left of 16 (east). However; in hind-sight; to the tower; which is located to the south of Runway 11; 'inside the numbers of 16' meant keep your downwind to the south of 16.My interpretation of the instruction was to fly a very short downwind leg after crossing over the numbers of 16 from north to south. As I approached the field; knowing that my downwind was going to be very short; I began to descend below pattern altitude in preparation for landing. Upon reaching the numbers of 16; I gave a position report. [I said] 'Arrow 190 FT over the numbers 16.' Tower replied by giving the instruction 'cleared to land 11 hold short of 16;' to which I replied that it would be difficult to hold short at this angle. Attempting to keep my pattern inside the numbers of 16 and holding short of 16 didn't seem possible. At that point; tower gave me 'cleared to land 11 full length available.' I had already passed over the numbers of 16 at this point; and began my base leg and descent to land on Runway 11. I was then given the instruction; '0FT; go-around.' Seeing a clear runway in front of me; I replied that a landing was still possible to which the tower replied; 'Negative; go-around; fly full runway length; and make left traffic.' I immediately put in full power. My airplane had been configured for a very rapid descent and short approach; so I had full flaps; gear down; and power at idle; and I had not yet made the prop full. The airplane had not begun to generate enough power to produce a positive rate of climb. My altitude was approximately 100 ft. AGL at this point. I began to make the configuration changes to the airplane for climb; gear up which takes time; and then taking out the 3rd notch of flaps. I think the tower perceived that I was not complying quickly enough with their instruction. At this point (approximately 10 seconds later) they requested; '0 FT; go around; I need you to climb immediately;' to which I replied that I was working on it. I was reconfiguring the airplane for climb. The next request from the tower was to make left traffic for Runway 11; inside the numbers of 16; and to copy a number when ready.I believe the tower perceived the time it took for me to reconfigure the airplane for climb as a deviation. I assure you; it was not. I made every effort to comply with tower's instructions.This situation is simply the result of my interpretation of 'inside the numbers of 16' to be stay to the east of 16; vs the towers view; which was keep your downwind to the south of the numbers of 16. When I gave my position report over the numbers of 16; had the tower replied with 'enter left downwind 11;' [that was when] I realized that my interpretation of the instruction was incorrect. However; being given the clearance to land after crossing the numbers for 16 confirmed to me that I was flying the pattern they wanted; and I should land with a very abbreviated downwind.After I copied the phone number for tower and had a conversation with them; they emphasized two things. One; is that they always expect a full pattern. In the future; if my interpretation of any instructions indicate a less than full pattern; I will ask for clarification. Second; if the tower asks for a go-around; it may be due to something that I cannot see from my location on the field; and because of that a go-around should never be questioned; even if it is in an attempt to accommodate the flow of traffic or to 'help out' the tower. [I should] just simply comply with a go-around as quickly as possible.Though I am no longer a student pilot; I am still attempting to learn as much as possible; and this situation made clear to me that I still have a lot to learn. Though we all want to expedite traffic flow at busy airports; at no time should that occur at the expense of compromised safety. If a situation seems unusual; then key the mic and ask the ATC facility to clarify.

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.