CAP PLT FAILS TO CLOSE HIS VFR FLT PLAN WITH LIH FSS. THEY LATER INFORMED LCL FSDO REF INCIDENT.

Narrative

ON 10/92; WHILE FLYING A CAPT SURVEY OF THE ISLAND OF KAUAI; HI; FOR THE NATIONAL WX SVC; I ACCIDENTLY FAILED TO CLOSE A VFR FLT PLAN WITH HNL FSS. FLT BEGAN IN HONOLULU. I FILED A VFR FLT PLAN TO KAUAI'S LIHUE ARPT (LIH) TO COVER FOR THE 85 MI OVERWATER FLT. AT MIDCHANNEL (HALFWAY) ON THE FLT I RADIOED FSS WITH A PLT RPT AND STATED I HAD KAUAI'S LIHUE ARPT IN SIGHT. I DID NOT SPECIFICALLY STATE 'CLOSE MY FLT PLAN;' NOR DID I INTEND FOR IT TO BE CLOSED AT THAT TIME. IN ADDITION TO FSS FLT MONITORING I ALSO WAS BEING FLT FOLLOWED BY CIVIL AIR PATROL OVER OUR 'COMPANY FREQ.' AS I APCHED LIHUE I CHKED IN WITH LIHUE TWR AND RPTED I WOULD BE WORKING AN AREA N OF THE ARPT FOR 2 HRS BEFORE LNDG. I ALSO CONTACTED THE CAP HQ AND RPTED BEGINNING THE SURVEY OPS. I ADDITIONALLY WAS ATTEMPTING TO CONTACT A CAP UNIT LOCATED ON KAUAI BUT WAS HAVING DIFFICULTY. I SIMPLY FORGOT TO CONTACT FSS AND CLOSE/UPDATE THE VFR FLT PLAN AT THAT TIME WHEN I SHOULD HAVE. ABOUT 1 HR LATER; MY CAP HQ CALLED TO TELL ME FSS HAD CALLED LOOKING FOR ME. I RADIOED FSS AND CLOSED MY FLT PLAN. I ALSO HAD THE WING HQ TELEPHONE FSS AND CLOSE MY PLAN. I THOUGHT THE MATTER CLOSED UNTIL 6 DAYS LATER I WAS TOLD THE FSS HAD REFERRED THE INCIDENT TO THE LCL FSDO FOR ACTION. I BELIEVE THE PROBLEM AROSE FROM SEVERAL FACTORS: FIRST LCL CAPT REGS REQUIRED THE FAA FLT PLAN FOR OVERWATER OPS WHILE ALSO REQUIRING ME TO BE FLT FOLLOWED BY CAP. SECONDLY; APCHING LIHUE INSTEAD OF LNDG I IMMEDIATELY BEGAN THE SURVEY PATTERN INSTEAD OF LNDG; BREAKING MY NORMAL DECISION CHAIN OF CLOSING AFTER LNDG. THIRD I WAS MONITORING 3 SEPARATE RADIOS AT THE TIME AND EXPERIENCING TROUBLE CONTACTING THE KAUAI CAP CONTACT WHICH DISTR ME FROM REMEMBERING TO CONTACT FSS. THE MATTER WAS CLRED UP BY A PHONE CALL FROM THE FSS TO CAP HQ WHO IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED ME AND I CLOSED THE PLAN.