GA SMA UNAUTHORIZED PENETRATION OF ADIZ SW OF EYW.

Narrative

ON OCT/FRI/91 I WAS IN VIOLATION OF THE ADIZ OFF THE COAST OF THE FLORIDA KEYS. TO BEGIN; I WAS HIRED TO FLY A 2 HR PHOTOGRAPHIC TOUR OF THE KEYS. AFTER DEPARTING MTH ENRTE TO EYW IN AN SMA; I WAS ASKED IF IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO FLY OFF THE COAST OF KEY WEST TO SEARCH FOR THE CUBAN BROTHER OF ONE OF MY PAX; WHO LEFT CUBA BY RAFT THAT SAME MORNING. ONCE OFF THE COAST OF KEY WEST I PROCEEDED TO TRACK OUTBOUND FROM THE EYW VOR ON THE 150 DEG RADIAL UNTIL REACHING THE 35 NM DME. THEN; AFTER HAVING NO SUCCESS LOCATING THEIR RAFT; I RETURNED TO A HDG OF 040 AND BEGAN TO RETURN TO MTH. ON THE RETURN TRIP I CHANGED HDGS IN A ZIGZAG PATTERN IN HOPES THAT WE COULD SPOT ANY REFUGEES. WHEN I WAS APPROX 30 NM S OF MTH; HDG DIRECTLY TO THE ARPT; I WAS INTERCEPTED BY 1 NAVY FGT WHO ESCORTED ME TO MTH. ONCE AT MTH I WAS FOLLOWED TO THE RAMP BY A UNITED STATES CUSTOMS ACFT. THE CUSTOMS AGENTS CHK ALL OF THE ACFT DOCUMENTS; TOOK INFO FROM MY PLT CERTIFICATE AND MEDICAL AND SEARCHED THE ACFT. AFTER EXPLAINING TO THE CUSTOMS AGENTS WHAT HAD HAPPENED THEY SAID THEY WERE NOT GOING TO VIOLATE ME; BUT TOLD ME NAVY KEY WEST SAID THEY WERE GOING TO PURSUE THE ISSUE. AT THIS POINT I DO NOT BELIEVE I WAS IN VIOLATION OF THE ADIZ ALONG THE 24 DEG PARALLEL. THE UNITED STATES CUSTOMS AGENTS I SPOKE TO SAID THEY DID NOT HAVE ME OUT AS FAR AS NAVY KEY WEST RADAR HAD ME OUT. WHICH WAS 5 MI S OF THE 24 DEG PARALLEL. BECAUSE I DID NOT EXPECT TO CROSS THE ADIZ I DID NOT FILE A DVFR FLT PLAN. I DID CONTACT NAVY APCH AFTER BEING INTERCEPTED BY THE NAVY FGT AND ADVISED THEM OF MY INTENTIONS. MY DECISION NOT TO FILE A DVFR FLT PLAN WAS IN POOR JUDGEMENT BUT I WAS AWARE OF THE ADIZ LOCATION AND HAD NO INTENTION TO VIOLATE IT.