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C172 pilot may have responded to instructions intended for another C172 aircraft and inadvertently entered class B airspace.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 620278 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200406 |
| Day | Sun |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601 To 1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | airport : hwd.airport |
| State Reference | CA |
| Altitude | agl single value : 2500 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Controlling Facilities | tracon : nct.tracon tower : bwi.tower |
| Operator | general aviation : personal |
| Make Model Name | Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Navigation In Use | other |
| Flight Phase | cruise : enroute altitude change |
| Route In Use | enroute : on vectors |
| Flight Plan | VFR |
| Aircraft 2 | |
| Controlling Facilities | tracon : nct.tracon |
| Make Model Name | Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172 |
| Flight Phase | cruise : level |
| Route In Use | enroute : on vectors |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | other |
| Function | flight crew : single pilot |
| Qualification | pilot : private |
| Experience | flight time last 90 days : 10 flight time total : 320 flight time type : 200 |
| ASRS Report | 620278 |
| Person 2 | |
| Function | flight crew : single pilot |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | airspace violation : entry conflict : airborne less severe non adherence : clearance non adherence : required legal separation non adherence : published procedure other anomaly other |
| Independent Detector | atc equipment other atc equipment : radar other controllera |
| Resolutory Action | controller : issued new clearance flight crew : became reoriented |
| Miss Distance | horizontal : 10000 vertical : 1000 |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | ATC Human Performance Flight Crew Human Performance Airspace Structure |
| Primary Problem | Flight Crew Human Performance |
| Air Traffic Incident | Pilot Deviation |
Narrative:
Planned northbound transition through oak airspace below sfo class B. Contacted norcal which provided vectors. Heard '270 degree heading and 2500 ft altitude,' which may have been intended for another C172-sp with tail number also ending in 'sp.' that heading and vector caused me to penetrate sfo class B floor of 2100 ft. Traffic had to vector to avoid conflict but separation was not violated. Cessna has had many aircraft assigned 'sp' as the last 2 letters of the tail number. This increases the probability of safety issues arising from aircraft misident due to similar sounding tail numbers.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: C172 PLT MAY HAVE RESPONDED TO INSTRUCTIONS INTENDED FOR ANOTHER C172 ACFT AND INADVERTENTLY ENTERED CLASS B AIRSPACE.
Narrative: PLANNED NBOUND TRANSITION THROUGH OAK AIRSPACE BELOW SFO CLASS B. CONTACTED NORCAL WHICH PROVIDED VECTORS. HEARD '270 DEG HDG AND 2500 FT ALT,' WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN INTENDED FOR ANOTHER C172-SP WITH TAIL NUMBER ALSO ENDING IN 'SP.' THAT HDG AND VECTOR CAUSED ME TO PENETRATE SFO CLASS B FLOOR OF 2100 FT. TFC HAD TO VECTOR TO AVOID CONFLICT BUT SEPARATION WAS NOT VIOLATED. CESSNA HAS HAD MANY ACFT ASSIGNED 'SP' AS THE LAST 2 LETTERS OF THE TAIL NUMBER. THIS INCREASES THE PROBABILITY OF SAFETY ISSUES ARISING FROM ACFT MISIDENT DUE TO SIMILAR SOUNDING TAIL NUMBERS.
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.