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BE23 private pilot reported overflying the field at pattern altitude and descended too low on the approach to land.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1749519 |
| Time | |
| Date | 202007 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Sundowner 23 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Initial Approach |
| Route In Use | Visual Approach |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Private |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 3 Flight Crew Total 450 Flight Crew Type 306 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Inflight Event / Encounter CFTT / CFIT |
Narrative:
I neglected to write down the traffic pattern altitude (tpa) of the airport; ZZZ; prior to take off. I used my efb (electronic flight bag) to look up the information during the descent but I misread and wrote down the airport elevation instead of the tpa. Starting at 10 nm. Out; I called out my intention to overfly the field at; what I now realize; tpa. I don't recall any aircraft announcing positions at that time. When overflew the field; at between 2;500 to 2;300 ft.; I announced my position; altitude; and the intention to join the downwind. An aircraft had just taken the active runway but had not yet started the takeoff roll. I don't recall any other aircraft in the pattern. I was actually at or slightly below tpa but I believed myself to be at approximately 1;000 ft. Above tpa so I continued to descend. By the time I turned base; I realized I was too close to the ground. I added power and climbed until I felt comfortable. I continued to fly the plane using visual references and landed. On the ground; I reviewed the airport information and realized my mistake. While I am glad that I decided to fly instead of continuing down a faulty process; I should have prepared better; double checked my information; knowing that I am more prone to error when multitasking; and I should have realized; by sight; that I was at tpa when I crossed the field. From now on; I will make a double check of the airport elevation and tpa a prelanding checklist item.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: BE23 Private Pilot reported overflying the field at pattern altitude and descended too low on the approach to land.
Narrative: I neglected to write down the traffic pattern altitude (TPA) of the airport; ZZZ; prior to take off. I used my EFB (Electronic Flight Bag) to look up the information during the descent but I misread and wrote down the airport elevation instead of the TPA. Starting at 10 nm. out; I called out my intention to overfly the field at; what I now realize; TPA. I don't recall any aircraft announcing positions at that time. When overflew the field; at between 2;500 to 2;300 ft.; I announced my position; altitude; and the intention to join the downwind. An aircraft had just taken the active runway but had not yet started the takeoff roll. I don't recall any other aircraft in the pattern. I was actually at or slightly below TPA but I believed myself to be at approximately 1;000 ft. above TPA so I continued to descend. By the time I turned base; I realized I was too close to the ground. I added power and climbed until I felt comfortable. I continued to fly the plane using visual references and landed. On the ground; I reviewed the airport information and realized my mistake. While I am glad that I decided to fly instead of continuing down a faulty process; I should have prepared better; double checked my information; knowing that I am more prone to error when multitasking; and I should have realized; by sight; that I was at TPA when I crossed the field. From now on; I will make a double check of the airport elevation and TPA a prelanding checklist item.
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.