Low altitude civil operation gets pilot in trouble with tower.

Attributes
ACN	214162
Time
Date	199206
Day	Sat
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	airport : dec
State Reference	IL
Altitude	agl bound lower : 100 agl bound upper : 100
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tower : dec
Operator	general aviation : personal
Make Model Name	Small Aircraft, Low Wing, 1 Eng, Retractable Gear
Flight Phase	cruise other cruise other
Route In Use	enroute : direct
Flight Plan	VFR
Person 1
Affiliation	Other
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Qualification	pilot : commercial pilot : atp pilot : flight engineer
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 150 flight time total : 9000 flight time type : 50
ASRS Report	214162
Person 2
Affiliation	Other
Function	observation : observer
Qualification	other other : other
Events
Anomaly	non adherence : far other anomaly other other spatial deviation
Independent Detector	other other : unspecified
Resolutory Action	none taken : detected after the fact
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

Having flown in the military for yrs, then commercially for many more, my familiarity with VFR rules had diminished. I flew several flts out of decatur airport in central il, each time taking a different relative along. We had fun while being safe, but I may have accidently not followed the letter of the law in a couple cases. I took off on runway 36, with permission to depart VFR to the south. But I did not specifically ask permission to fly low level over the lake partially located in the air traffic area. Also, even though I flew no lower than 100 ft AGL and a min of 500 ft away from all people and obstacles, one person called the tower and said otherwise. My MTR is bigger than the average sel, which made it seem closer, I suspect. In the future, I will study VFR rules more thoroughly. In addition, I will go above and beyond by flying a little higher and a little further away to avoid upsetting people on the ground.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: LOW ALT CIVIL OP GETS PLT IN TROUBLE WITH TWR.

Narrative: HAVING FLOWN IN THE MIL FOR YRS, THEN COMMERCIALLY FOR MANY MORE, MY FAMILIARITY WITH VFR RULES HAD DIMINISHED. I FLEW SEVERAL FLTS OUT OF DECATUR ARPT IN CENTRAL IL, EACH TIME TAKING A DIFFERENT RELATIVE ALONG. WE HAD FUN WHILE BEING SAFE, BUT I MAY HAVE ACCIDENTLY NOT FOLLOWED THE LETTER OF THE LAW IN A COUPLE CASES. I TOOK OFF ON RWY 36, WITH PERMISSION TO DEPART VFR TO THE S. BUT I DID NOT SPECIFICALLY ASK PERMISSION TO FLY LOW LEVEL OVER THE LAKE PARTIALLY LOCATED IN THE ATA. ALSO, EVEN THOUGH I FLEW NO LOWER THAN 100 FT AGL AND A MIN OF 500 FT AWAY FROM ALL PEOPLE AND OBSTACLES, ONE PERSON CALLED THE TWR AND SAID OTHERWISE. MY MTR IS BIGGER THAN THE AVERAGE SEL, WHICH MADE IT SEEM CLOSER, I SUSPECT. IN THE FUTURE, I WILL STUDY VFR RULES MORE THOROUGHLY. IN ADDITION, I WILL GO ABOVE AND BEYOND BY FLYING A LITTLE HIGHER AND A LITTLE FURTHER AWAY TO AVOID UPSETTING PEOPLE ON THE GND.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.