Instructor pilot accused by ATC of climbing into class B airspace at 2500 ft.

Attributes
ACN	407010
Time
Date	199807
Day	Fri
Local Time Of Day	1801 To 2400
Place
Locale Reference	atc facility : col
State Reference	NJ
Altitude	msl bound lower : 2500 msl bound upper : 2500
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tracon : n90
Operator	general aviation : instructional
Make Model Name	Small Aircraft
Flight Phase	climbout : intermediate altitude cruise other
Route In Use	enroute : direct
Flight Plan	VFR
Person 1
Affiliation	Other
Function	instruction : instructor oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : instrument pilot : cfi pilot : commercial
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 75 flight time total : 692 flight time type : 500
ASRS Report	407010
Person 2
Affiliation	Other
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Qualification	pilot : student
Events
Anomaly	other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other controllera other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	other
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	ATC Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	other

Narrative:

Instructor and student on night cross country flight were under class B airspace in contact with approach. Upon passing landmarks on VFR terminal area chart, at which point class B airspace lower limit increased from 1500 ft to 3000 ft, instructor and pilot started climb to 2500 ft. ATC thought we were in class B airspace and stated same. No action was taken by instructor other than to disagree with controller 1 time so as not to clog up the frequency. In retrospect, instructor should have stated intention to climb beforehand to give ATC a chance to state any disagreement, due to other traffic, etc.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: INSTRUCTOR PLT ACCUSED BY ATC OF CLBING INTO CLASS B AIRSPACE AT 2500 FT.

Narrative: INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENT ON NIGHT XCOUNTRY FLT WERE UNDER CLASS B AIRSPACE IN CONTACT WITH APCH. UPON PASSING LANDMARKS ON VFR TERMINAL AREA CHART, AT WHICH POINT CLASS B AIRSPACE LOWER LIMIT INCREASED FROM 1500 FT TO 3000 FT, INSTRUCTOR AND PLT STARTED CLB TO 2500 FT. ATC THOUGHT WE WERE IN CLASS B AIRSPACE AND STATED SAME. NO ACTION WAS TAKEN BY INSTRUCTOR OTHER THAN TO DISAGREE WITH CTLR 1 TIME SO AS NOT TO CLOG UP THE FREQ. IN RETROSPECT, INSTRUCTOR SHOULD HAVE STATED INTENTION TO CLB BEFOREHAND TO GIVE ATC A CHANCE TO STATE ANY DISAGREEMENT, DUE TO OTHER TFC, ETC.

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.