AN SMA ACFT LANDS AT SYR; NY; WITHOUT CLRNC TO LAND FROM THE TWR. PLT NEVER SWITCHED OVER TO TWR.

Narrative

I WAS RETURNING TO SYR FROM BGM; HAVING GONE TO BGM TO VISIT A FRIEND OF MINE. ON APCHING THE SYR AIRSPACE; I RECEIVED THE PROPER ATIS INFO; THEN CONTACTED SYR APCH. I WAS RECOGNIZED; AND GIVEN A SQUAWK CODE OF KK; AND ALSO TOLD TO EXPECT VECTORS FOR THE APCH TO RWY 28. THERE WAS A FAIR AMOUNT OF TFC; BOTH APCHING AND DEPARTING; AND BOTH RWYS; 32 AND 28; WERE ACTIVE. AT THE TIME I WAS APCHING; THERE WERE SEVERAL OTHER ACFT CALLING THE SAME FREQ AS I. I WAS GRADUALLY VECTORED TO THE E OF THE ARPT; THEN TO THE N; THEN FINALLY TOLD TO PROCEED STRAIGHT IN TO RWY 28. I WAS ALSO TOLD TO KEEP MY SPD UP; AS THERE WAS TFC IMMEDIATELY BEHIND ME; ALSO LNDG ON RWY 28. DURING MY APCH; I WAS CONCENTRATING ON BOTH KEEPING UP MY SPD; AS WELL AS DSNDING SO AS TO MAKE THE RWY. THERE WERE SEVERAL RPTS BY THE APCH CTLR OF MY LOCATION TO OTHER TFC; BUT TO THE BEST OF MY RECOLLECTION; I WAS NEVER HANDED OFF TO THE TWR. I CONTINUED MY APCH; COMPLETING AN UNEVENTFUL LNDG. IT WAS AFTER CLRING THE RWY THAT I NOTICED I WAS STILL ON THE APCH FREQ; AND HAD SOME DIFFICULTY CONTACTING GND DUE TO THIS. IT WAS AS I WAS TAXIING TO THE RAMP THAT I WAS GIVEN A 'HEADS UP' BY THE GND CTLR THAT I HAD NOT RECEIVED MY CLRNC TO LAND. IT IS MY OPINION THAT THERE WERE SEVERAL FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THIS SIT. FIRST; MY INEXPERIENCE; BOTH IN TYPE AND IN GENERAL. ONE OF THE PURPOSES OF THIS FLT WAS TO GAIN FURTHER EXPERIENCE IN THIS ACFT; AND MUCH OF MY CONCENTRATION WAS IN FLYING THE ACFT. IN ADDITION; THIS ACFT HAS 2 COM RADIOS; WITH FLIP-FLOP SWITCHING. I HAD SET UP THE RADIOS TO WORK IN A LOGICAL ORDER; INCLUDING THE TWR; AND MY EXPERIENCE TO THIS POINT HAS BEEN THAT YOU ALWAYS GET HANDED OFF TO THE TWR; AND THAT IS THE TIME YOU ARE CLRED TO LAND. AS I WAS CONCENTRATING ON MAKING A FAST APCH; WITH A XWIND FROM THE R; THE LACK OF CHANGE DID NOT REGISTER. SECOND; A SENSE OF COMPLACENCY; COMBINED WITH A LACK OF TRAINING FOR THIS PARTICULAR SIT. AS PREVIOUSLY STATED; MY EXPERIENCE INTO SYR HAS BEEN THAT YOU ALWAYS GET THE HDOF FROM THE APCH CTLR TO THE TWR CTLR; AND THIS CTLR IS THE ONE THAT CLRS YOU TO LAND; OR NOT. IN ALL MY TIME TO AND FROM SYR; I HAVE NEVER NOT BEEN HANDED OFF TO TWR. THE TRAINING I RECEIVED WAS THAT OF LEARNING THE PROPER COMS PROTOCOL; AND KNOWING THE FREQS FOR SYR. NOT BEING CLRED TO LAND WAS MENTIONED; BUT NOT EMPHASIZED; AS IT IS SUCH A RARE OCCURRENCE -- USUALLY PRECIPITATED BY OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES LEADING TO A GAR. THE EMPHASIS WAS ON BEING ABLE TO CORRECTLY INTERPRET PROACTIVE COMMANDS SUCH AS 'GAR;' AND NOT THE INTERP OF THE LACK OF PROPER CLRNCS OR COMMANDS.