A VERY LOW-TIME PVT PLT; ON A XCOUNTRY FLT; RPTED THAT HE ENTERED LWM CLASS D AIRSPACE WITHOUT PERMISSION.
Synopsis
A VERY LOW-TIME PVT PLT; ON A XCOUNTRY FLT; RPTED THAT HE ENTERED LWM CLASS D AIRSPACE WITHOUT PERMISSION.
Narrative
I HAD PLANNED A SHORT XCOUNTRY FROM ASH TO SFM TO 7B3 (CIRCUMVENTING PEASE INTL) TO ASH. THE PLAN WAS TO FULFILL XCOUNTRY REQUIREMENTS WITH A TOUCH AND GO AT SFM AND THEN TRIANGLE DOWN THE COAST AND BACK TO ASH. ON THE THIRD LEG OF OUR TRIP (7B3 TO ASH); MY PLAN HAD BEEN TO CALL MHT APCH AND TRANSIT CLASS C INTO ASH. BUT THE FREQ WAS EXTREMELY BUSY AND I HEARD SEVERAL PLTS' CLRNC. SO; I DECIDED; RATHER THAN HASSLE WITH IT; I WOULD JUST CONTINUE VFR; 1200 FT; INTO ASH; CIRCUMNAVING MHT CLASS C SPACE. I HAD BEEN FOLLOWING THE PLAN ON MY CHART; BUT NOW; WITH THE DEV; I TURNED SOUTHEASTERLY TO NAV AROUND MHT. WITH A BRISK WIND ALOFT (25 KTS FROM SSE); I PUT IN A HEFTY WIND CORRECTION 'GUESSTIMATE.' I WAS NOW RELYING ON SEEING MY NEXT LANDMARK WHICH WAS TO BE ROCKINGHAM PARK. MY CALCULATION WAS THAT; WHEN I ARRIVED OVER ROCKINGHAM; I WOULD BE FAR ENOUGH S OF THE MHT AIRSPACE. THEN; I COULD TURN TOWARDS ASH; DSND TO TPA; MAKE MY CALL TO ASH; AND I WOULD BE ALL CLR. JUST TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE; I DSNDED TO APPROX 1400 FT MSL. SO; EVEN IF MY RTE WAS A LITTLE OFF; I WOULDN'T VIOLATE THE FLOOR OF THE OUTER LAYER OF MHT CLASS C. IT WAS AT ABOUT THIS POINT THAT I FOUND MY LANDMARK (ROCKINGHAM PARK); BUT INSTEAD OF BEING OVER IT; I WAS ABOUT 1 MI S. I IMMEDIATELY MADE A CORRECTION AND CONTINUED INTO NASHUA (ASH) UNEVENTFULLY. UPON LNDG I TOOK A CLOSER LOOK AT MY CHART TO DETERMINE MY RTE IN FROM THE COAST AND I REALIZED THAT I HAD VERY LIKELY BEEN INSIDE THE NORTHERN EDGE OF LWM CLASS D AIRSPACE. IT WAS CLR THAT MY NAV HAD BEEN POOR AND I'D BEEN DISTRACTED. I HAD ASSUMED; WITHOUT CHKING; THAT MHT APCH COULD NOT HANDLE ME. I DEVIATED FROM MY PLAN 'ON THE FLY' WITHOUT FULLY EVALUATING IT. I HAD OVERCOMPENSATED FOR THE WIND; I WAS FOCUSED ON 'SEE AND AVOID;' AND I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT GIVING MY WIFE A SMOOTH RIDE. ALL OF THESE TOGETHER WERE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO GETTING ME OFF COURSE. NEXT TIME I WON'T SO HASTILY DEVIATE FROM A WELL THOUGHT-OUT PLAN BEFORE SUFFICIENTLY ANALYZING THE LIKELY RESULTS.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.