Narrative:

I departed psp for O69, with 1 passenger, a student pilot. Attendees had flown over 2500 aircraft into psp and 2 other local airports for an event. FSS was swamped and I was unable to get through for a WX briefing. I checked local radio forecasts and the WX channel which reported no problems and the broadcast radar showed no cells northwest of psp. Clear skies and overall clearing conditions were reported along my entire route, except for some dissipating clouds over the highest mountains. Outside it was cavu except for some twring cumulous to the northeast and some cloud cap on the summits of the mountains north of banning pass. Winds were 15 KTS, gusting to 25 KTS. At the FBO there was a crowd of pilots waiting to receive briefings on the telephone and through duats. One pilot told me that these were eastbound pilots getting briefings about severe thunderstorms over the phoenix area and there was no problem at all wbound. I could see numerous aircraft taking off and heading west toward banning pass. From what I could see outside, WX did'nt appear to be a factor. I rationalized that my flight would take 5 hours and any WX I got would be obsolete by the time I was actually able to depart. Once on the ramp and in my aircraft I noticed that in the dry desert air I had become very thirsty and hadn't brought any water. The temperature on the ramp was in the low 90's in direct sunshine. The thermometer indicated 110 degrees in my unairconditioned aircraft where I spent over 20 mins setting up the GPS, etc. There were long delays in the intense heat during taxi and takeoff. ATC communications were predictably tense and congested. I was soon flying in a swarm of aircraft headed toward banning pass. My rented piper archer was slower than most other aircraft and we were constantly being overtaken by other aircraft. The wind was gusty, and the thermals strong, resulting in a very rough ride. I was now very thirsty, hot, and a little airsick from the turbulence. I found all of this plus the close traffic unnerving. As we flew up the pass in increasing turbulence, the WX deteriorated. When we were 1/2 way up the pass, I could see the coastal mountains 50 mi west. Before we reached banning airport, the ceiling dropped several thousand ft, the sky darkened, and horizontal visibility dropped to the north and west to about 12 mi. Psp departure control had given me the handoff frequency for socal, but I could not get them to acknowledge due to the heavy traffic. All the way up banning pass I tried unsuccessfully to communicate with ATC. The absence of flight following in this swarm of aircraft was especially distracting. I intended to fly at 10500 ft but even 6500 ft would now put me in IMC. I hadn't expected this and had given no thought to what my alternatives would be in this situation. With no appropriate wbound VFR altitude available because of the incoming class C airspace, which topped at 5000 ft, I descended from about 5500 ft to 5000 ft to avoid IMC and upcoming class C airports. I reasoned that I would be safer in these poor visibility conditions facing conflicting IFR traffic at 5000 ft than VFR traffic at 5500 ft. Then an aircraft appeared at 1 O'clock out of the mist and before I could react, flashed past me about 500 ft off my left. 2 others followed. These weren't near misses, but were close enough to alarm me and make me feel very unsafe and further unnerved. I repeatedly sought acknowledgement from socal but they did not respond. At this point, another VFR aircraft in my vicinity (but at 11500 ft) declared an emergency because of the sudden IFR conditions. Another reported icing and asked for ATC assistance. We encountered cold downdrafts and then hail and then rain mixed with ice pellets. This very cold precipitation caused precipitation fog or cloud formation immediately around us and the ceiling dropped and forward visibility declined almost instantly. We had gone from 50 mi visibility to MVFR in less than 12 mins. We then encountered strong, cold downdrafts and the sky suddenly became very dark. Things looked worse to our left or right and behind us. That left straight ahead as our only escape route. I handed my student pilot passenger's terminal area chart back to her and told her to 'here you take the map now and also see if you can find the next center frequency or another approach frequency to give us advice and flight following.' I then busied myself looking for traffic, staring at the worsening WX and zooming up my GPS to look for an escape route to the south away from the upcoming class C airspace. Unbeknownst to me, my passenger, a student pilot, could not read the chart. I had assumed she could and that she understood when I said 'here, take the chart' that she would interpret that as meaning 'assume responsibility for navigation concerning upcoming airspace.' my passenger interpreted my handing her the map with the request to find the frequencys as only a request to find the frequencys, not to navigation or assume any responsibility to monitor airspace. Neither of us now believed that we were completely responsible for monitoring the upcoming class C airspace boundaries. Downdrafts had now pushed us down from 5000 ft to about 4500 ft but going back to 5000 ft would now put me in or near IMC. My passenger said nothing about riverside airspace as we flew straight toward it, but I noticed riverside airport class C airspace on my GPS and steered around it. We had stopped having close encounters with other aircraft and I attributed that to our appropriate 4500 ft altitude and felt safer there. I made a mental note to myself that ont class C airspace was coming up, with a 5000 ft ceiling. I quickly became distraction looking up at the now black, ominous clouds above us, looking out for other aircraft, punching keys on my GPS while I plotted a new route to the south, and repeatedly calling socal for flight following. Socal did not respond and conditions continued to deteriorate. It was time to do something. Visibility was better lower, but I was afraid of terrain and microburst downdrafts out of the now nearly black clouds right above us. The other aircraft that had declared emergencys were simply advised by ATC to fly a 180 degree heading. I considered declaring an emergency and if I did declare an emergency they would surely give me the same advice -- fly south. There was a large cloud mass immediately south of me but we were nearly past it. I decided that it would be safer to maintain VFR, fly around or past it, and then turn south. The mist cleared a little straight ahead and I noticed ont airport tower about 5 mi ahead and suddenly my heart stopped. I quickly retrieved the chart from my seatmate. It was obvious that we were in class C airspace at 4500 ft. I punched higher resolution on my GPS and reconfirmed that we had flown right into ont's class C airspace (ceiling 5000 ft) at 4500 ft to within less than 5 mi of the field. I followed the advice ATC gave to the other aircraft that had declared emergencys. I made a standard rate left 90 degree turn to 180 degrees. I was about to either call the tower or broadcast on 121.5 when my passenger, who had taken back the map again, finally found the next sector socal frequency, which was not nearly as congested as the previous one. I called and requested flight following. The controller asked me my heading and altitude, idented me as the culprit, and notified me that I had violated class C airspace. She then lectured me about knowing the 'procedures' before coming into southern california. I mumbled an abject apology and promised it would never happen again. I flew south clear of the clouds and then immediately landed in corona. Even before I landed, the forward visibility throughout the entire region was back to 30 mi or so. Within 20 mins, the WX picture below 8500 ft had again become clear.

Related reports:

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA28-181 PLT LEAVING PSP ENCOUNTERS A GREAT DEAL OF TFC ALSO LEAVING FOR THE BANNING PASS. WX DETERIORATES RAPIDLY FORCING DSCNT WITH RESULTING ENTRY INTO CLASS C AIRSPACE WITHOUT CLRNC.

Narrative: I DEPARTED PSP FOR O69, WITH 1 PAX, A STUDENT PLT. ATTENDEES HAD FLOWN OVER 2500 ACFT INTO PSP AND 2 OTHER LCL ARPTS FOR AN EVENT. FSS WAS SWAMPED AND I WAS UNABLE TO GET THROUGH FOR A WX BRIEFING. I CHKED LCL RADIO FORECASTS AND THE WX CHANNEL WHICH RPTED NO PROBS AND THE BROADCAST RADAR SHOWED NO CELLS NW OF PSP. CLR SKIES AND OVERALL CLRING CONDITIONS WERE RPTED ALONG MY ENTIRE RTE, EXCEPT FOR SOME DISSIPATING CLOUDS OVER THE HIGHEST MOUNTAINS. OUTSIDE IT WAS CAVU EXCEPT FOR SOME TWRING CUMULOUS TO THE NE AND SOME CLOUD CAP ON THE SUMMITS OF THE MOUNTAINS N OF BANNING PASS. WINDS WERE 15 KTS, GUSTING TO 25 KTS. AT THE FBO THERE WAS A CROWD OF PLTS WAITING TO RECEIVE BRIEFINGS ON THE TELEPHONE AND THROUGH DUATS. ONE PLT TOLD ME THAT THESE WERE EBOUND PLTS GETTING BRIEFINGS ABOUT SEVERE TSTMS OVER THE PHOENIX AREA AND THERE WAS NO PROB AT ALL WBOUND. I COULD SEE NUMEROUS ACFT TAKING OFF AND HDG W TOWARD BANNING PASS. FROM WHAT I COULD SEE OUTSIDE, WX DID'NT APPEAR TO BE A FACTOR. I RATIONALIZED THAT MY FLT WOULD TAKE 5 HRS AND ANY WX I GOT WOULD BE OBSOLETE BY THE TIME I WAS ACTUALLY ABLE TO DEPART. ONCE ON THE RAMP AND IN MY ACFT I NOTICED THAT IN THE DRY DESERT AIR I HAD BECOME VERY THIRSTY AND HADN'T BROUGHT ANY WATER. THE TEMP ON THE RAMP WAS IN THE LOW 90'S IN DIRECT SUNSHINE. THE THERMOMETER INDICATED 110 DEGS IN MY UNAIRCONDITIONED ACFT WHERE I SPENT OVER 20 MINS SETTING UP THE GPS, ETC. THERE WERE LONG DELAYS IN THE INTENSE HEAT DURING TAXI AND TKOF. ATC COMS WERE PREDICTABLY TENSE AND CONGESTED. I WAS SOON FLYING IN A SWARM OF ACFT HEADED TOWARD BANNING PASS. MY RENTED PIPER ARCHER WAS SLOWER THAN MOST OTHER ACFT AND WE WERE CONSTANTLY BEING OVERTAKEN BY OTHER ACFT. THE WIND WAS GUSTY, AND THE THERMALS STRONG, RESULTING IN A VERY ROUGH RIDE. I WAS NOW VERY THIRSTY, HOT, AND A LITTLE AIRSICK FROM THE TURB. I FOUND ALL OF THIS PLUS THE CLOSE TFC UNNERVING. AS WE FLEW UP THE PASS IN INCREASING TURB, THE WX DETERIORATED. WHEN WE WERE 1/2 WAY UP THE PASS, I COULD SEE THE COASTAL MOUNTAINS 50 MI W. BEFORE WE REACHED BANNING ARPT, THE CEILING DROPPED SEVERAL THOUSAND FT, THE SKY DARKENED, AND HORIZ VIS DROPPED TO THE N AND W TO ABOUT 12 MI. PSP DEP CTL HAD GIVEN ME THE HDOF FREQ FOR SOCAL, BUT I COULD NOT GET THEM TO ACKNOWLEDGE DUE TO THE HVY TFC. ALL THE WAY UP BANNING PASS I TRIED UNSUCCESSFULLY TO COMMUNICATE WITH ATC. THE ABSENCE OF FLT FOLLOWING IN THIS SWARM OF ACFT WAS ESPECIALLY DISTRACTING. I INTENDED TO FLY AT 10500 FT BUT EVEN 6500 FT WOULD NOW PUT ME IN IMC. I HADN'T EXPECTED THIS AND HAD GIVEN NO THOUGHT TO WHAT MY ALTERNATIVES WOULD BE IN THIS SIT. WITH NO APPROPRIATE WBOUND VFR ALT AVAILABLE BECAUSE OF THE INCOMING CLASS C AIRSPACE, WHICH TOPPED AT 5000 FT, I DSNDED FROM ABOUT 5500 FT TO 5000 FT TO AVOID IMC AND UPCOMING CLASS C ARPTS. I REASONED THAT I WOULD BE SAFER IN THESE POOR VIS CONDITIONS FACING CONFLICTING IFR TFC AT 5000 FT THAN VFR TFC AT 5500 FT. THEN AN ACFT APPEARED AT 1 O'CLOCK OUT OF THE MIST AND BEFORE I COULD REACT, FLASHED PAST ME ABOUT 500 FT OFF MY L. 2 OTHERS FOLLOWED. THESE WEREN'T NEAR MISSES, BUT WERE CLOSE ENOUGH TO ALARM ME AND MAKE ME FEEL VERY UNSAFE AND FURTHER UNNERVED. I REPEATEDLY SOUGHT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FROM SOCAL BUT THEY DID NOT RESPOND. AT THIS POINT, ANOTHER VFR ACFT IN MY VICINITY (BUT AT 11500 FT) DECLARED AN EMER BECAUSE OF THE SUDDEN IFR CONDITIONS. ANOTHER RPTED ICING AND ASKED FOR ATC ASSISTANCE. WE ENCOUNTERED COLD DOWNDRAFTS AND THEN HAIL AND THEN RAIN MIXED WITH ICE PELLETS. THIS VERY COLD PRECIP CAUSED PRECIP FOG OR CLOUD FORMATION IMMEDIATELY AROUND US AND THE CEILING DROPPED AND FORWARD VIS DECLINED ALMOST INSTANTLY. WE HAD GONE FROM 50 MI VIS TO MVFR IN LESS THAN 12 MINS. WE THEN ENCOUNTERED STRONG, COLD DOWNDRAFTS AND THE SKY SUDDENLY BECAME VERY DARK. THINGS LOOKED WORSE TO OUR L OR R AND BEHIND US. THAT LEFT STRAIGHT AHEAD AS OUR ONLY ESCAPE RTE. I HANDED MY STUDENT PLT PAX'S TERMINAL AREA CHART BACK TO HER AND TOLD HER TO 'HERE YOU TAKE THE MAP NOW AND ALSO SEE IF YOU CAN FIND THE NEXT CTR FREQ OR ANOTHER APCH FREQ TO GIVE US ADVICE AND FLT FOLLOWING.' I THEN BUSIED MYSELF LOOKING FOR TFC, STARING AT THE WORSENING WX AND ZOOMING UP MY GPS TO LOOK FOR AN ESCAPE RTE TO THE S AWAY FROM THE UPCOMING CLASS C AIRSPACE. UNBEKNOWNST TO ME, MY PAX, A STUDENT PLT, COULD NOT READ THE CHART. I HAD ASSUMED SHE COULD AND THAT SHE UNDERSTOOD WHEN I SAID 'HERE, TAKE THE CHART' THAT SHE WOULD INTERPRET THAT AS MEANING 'ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR NAV CONCERNING UPCOMING AIRSPACE.' MY PAX INTERPED MY HANDING HER THE MAP WITH THE REQUEST TO FIND THE FREQS AS ONLY A REQUEST TO FIND THE FREQS, NOT TO NAV OR ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY TO MONITOR AIRSPACE. NEITHER OF US NOW BELIEVED THAT WE WERE COMPLETELY RESPONSIBLE FOR MONITORING THE UPCOMING CLASS C AIRSPACE BOUNDARIES. DOWNDRAFTS HAD NOW PUSHED US DOWN FROM 5000 FT TO ABOUT 4500 FT BUT GOING BACK TO 5000 FT WOULD NOW PUT ME IN OR NEAR IMC. MY PAX SAID NOTHING ABOUT RIVERSIDE AIRSPACE AS WE FLEW STRAIGHT TOWARD IT, BUT I NOTICED RIVERSIDE ARPT CLASS C AIRSPACE ON MY GPS AND STEERED AROUND IT. WE HAD STOPPED HAVING CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH OTHER ACFT AND I ATTRIBUTED THAT TO OUR APPROPRIATE 4500 FT ALT AND FELT SAFER THERE. I MADE A MENTAL NOTE TO MYSELF THAT ONT CLASS C AIRSPACE WAS COMING UP, WITH A 5000 FT CEILING. I QUICKLY BECAME DISTR LOOKING UP AT THE NOW BLACK, OMINOUS CLOUDS ABOVE US, LOOKING OUT FOR OTHER ACFT, PUNCHING KEYS ON MY GPS WHILE I PLOTTED A NEW RTE TO THE S, AND REPEATEDLY CALLING SOCAL FOR FLT FOLLOWING. SOCAL DID NOT RESPOND AND CONDITIONS CONTINUED TO DETERIORATE. IT WAS TIME TO DO SOMETHING. VIS WAS BETTER LOWER, BUT I WAS AFRAID OF TERRAIN AND MICROBURST DOWNDRAFTS OUT OF THE NOW NEARLY BLACK CLOUDS RIGHT ABOVE US. THE OTHER ACFT THAT HAD DECLARED EMERS WERE SIMPLY ADVISED BY ATC TO FLY A 180 DEG HDG. I CONSIDERED DECLARING AN EMER AND IF I DID DECLARE AN EMER THEY WOULD SURELY GIVE ME THE SAME ADVICE -- FLY S. THERE WAS A LARGE CLOUD MASS IMMEDIATELY S OF ME BUT WE WERE NEARLY PAST IT. I DECIDED THAT IT WOULD BE SAFER TO MAINTAIN VFR, FLY AROUND OR PAST IT, AND THEN TURN S. THE MIST CLRED A LITTLE STRAIGHT AHEAD AND I NOTICED ONT ARPT TWR ABOUT 5 MI AHEAD AND SUDDENLY MY HEART STOPPED. I QUICKLY RETRIEVED THE CHART FROM MY SEATMATE. IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT WE WERE IN CLASS C AIRSPACE AT 4500 FT. I PUNCHED HIGHER RESOLUTION ON MY GPS AND RECONFIRMED THAT WE HAD FLOWN RIGHT INTO ONT'S CLASS C AIRSPACE (CEILING 5000 FT) AT 4500 FT TO WITHIN LESS THAN 5 MI OF THE FIELD. I FOLLOWED THE ADVICE ATC GAVE TO THE OTHER ACFT THAT HAD DECLARED EMERS. I MADE A STANDARD RATE L 90 DEG TURN TO 180 DEGS. I WAS ABOUT TO EITHER CALL THE TWR OR BROADCAST ON 121.5 WHEN MY PAX, WHO HAD TAKEN BACK THE MAP AGAIN, FINALLY FOUND THE NEXT SECTOR SOCAL FREQ, WHICH WAS NOT NEARLY AS CONGESTED AS THE PREVIOUS ONE. I CALLED AND REQUESTED FLT FOLLOWING. THE CTLR ASKED ME MY HDG AND ALT, IDENTED ME AS THE CULPRIT, AND NOTIFIED ME THAT I HAD VIOLATED CLASS C AIRSPACE. SHE THEN LECTURED ME ABOUT KNOWING THE 'PROCS' BEFORE COMING INTO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. I MUMBLED AN ABJECT APOLOGY AND PROMISED IT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN. I FLEW S CLR OF THE CLOUDS AND THEN IMMEDIATELY LANDED IN CORONA. EVEN BEFORE I LANDED, THE FORWARD VIS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE REGION WAS BACK TO 30 MI OR SO. WITHIN 20 MINS, THE WX PICTURE BELOW 8500 FT HAD AGAIN BECOME CLR.

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.