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A PA28 pilot in contact with approach control for flight following, realized after flying 40 mi that he was at the wrong altitude for direction of flight.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 506030 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200103 |
| Day | Sun |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601 To 1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | airport : szl.airport |
| State Reference | MO |
| Altitude | msl bound lower : 5500 msl bound upper : 6500 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Controlling Facilities | tracon : iad.tracon |
| Operator | general aviation : personal |
| Make Model Name | PA-28 Cherokee/Archer II/Dakota/Pillan/Warrior |
| Flight Phase | cruise : level |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | other |
| Function | flight crew : single pilot |
| Qualification | pilot : private |
| Experience | flight time last 90 days : 39.1 flight time total : 971.2 flight time type : 910.3 |
| ASRS Report | 506030 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | non adherence : far non adherence : published procedure other spatial deviation |
| Resolutory Action | none taken : detected after the fact |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | Flight Crew Human Performance |
| Primary Problem | Flight Crew Human Performance |
| Air Traffic Incident | Pilot Deviation |
Narrative:
I departed with the intention of flying a relatively direct route to lwc. Since my route would take me through the truman C MOA, I contacted whiteman approach for flight following and to check the status of MOA. Whiteman approach assigned a transponder code and verified position. After flying 40 NM on a wbound heading, I realized that I was flying at an incorrect altitude of 5500 ft. After recognizing my error and establishing that I was clear of MOA, I canceled flight following and climbed to 6500 ft for remainder of flight. Contributing factors: since I am relatively inexperienced in the use of flight following, I was preoccupied with my communication skills.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A PA28 PLT IN CONTACT WITH APCH CTL FOR FLT FOLLOWING, REALIZED AFTER FLYING 40 MI THAT HE WAS AT THE WRONG ALT FOR DIRECTION OF FLT.
Narrative: I DEPARTED WITH THE INTENTION OF FLYING A RELATIVELY DIRECT RTE TO LWC. SINCE MY RTE WOULD TAKE ME THROUGH THE TRUMAN C MOA, I CONTACTED WHITEMAN APCH FOR FLT FOLLOWING AND TO CHK THE STATUS OF MOA. WHITEMAN APCH ASSIGNED A XPONDER CODE AND VERIFIED POS. AFTER FLYING 40 NM ON A WBOUND HDG, I REALIZED THAT I WAS FLYING AT AN INCORRECT ALT OF 5500 FT. AFTER RECOGNIZING MY ERROR AND ESTABLISHING THAT I WAS CLR OF MOA, I CANCELED FLT FOLLOWING AND CLBED TO 6500 FT FOR REMAINDER OF FLT. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: SINCE I AM RELATIVELY INEXPERIENCED IN THE USE OF FLT FOLLOWING, I WAS PREOCCUPIED WITH MY COM SKILLS.
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.