2001-09 · NASA ASRS report 525228
C172 PVT PLT INADVERTENTLY ENTERED A TEMPORARY FLT RESTR AREA WHEN DIVERTING FOR WX.
I STARTED OUT IN JVY; ID. AT XA45; I FILED A FLT PLAN WITH TERRA HAUTE FSS TO CTJ AND ACTIVATED IT AT XB10. UPON REACHING CTJ; I REFUELED; CLOSED THAT FLT PLAN; FILED ANOTHER FLT PLAN TO OMN AND RECEIVED A WX BRIEFING FOR MY RTE (I RECEIVED A BRIEFING BEFORE FILING MY FIRST FLT PLAN). I KNEW THERE WERE SOME TSTMS FORMING ALONG MY RTE; BUT I FIGURED IF I HIT ANY I COULD JUST LAND AND WAIT IT OFF. ON THE LEG BTWN WAYCROSS (AYS) AND TAYLOR (TAY); I NOTICED THE CLOUDS WERE DROPPING. I DSNDED BELOW THE CLOUDS TO STAY VFR. THROUGHOUT THIS WHOLE PORTION OF THE TRIP; I HAD A HEADWIND ALMOST THE ENTIRE TIME AND I KNEW THAT I WOULD NEED FUEL TO MAKE IT TO OMN. ABOUT 15 MI UNTIL TAY; I WAS FACED WITH A WALL OF TSTMS. I CALLED MCN FSS TO TRY AND FIND AN ALTERNATE RTE OR A PLACE TO LAND. I WAS TOLD (AND I VISUALLY NOTICED) THAT THE ONLY WAY I COULD GO WAS TO THE E. SO I DID THAT AND LANDED AT DAVIS (3J6). THERE WAS NO FUEL OR PHONE. THE ONLY OTHER PLACE I COULD GO AND STAY VFR WAS ST MARY'S (4J6). I WENT THERE AND LANDED. WHEN I GOT TO A PHONE AND CALLED FSS; THEY TOLD ME MY MISTAKE. ST MARY'S WAS IN A RESTR AREA (TEMPORARY) FROM THE NATIONAL SECURITY CRISIS. I WAS NOT INFORMED OF THIS BY FSS BECAUSE I DID NOT PLAN ON GOING THERE. A MIXTURE OF DECISION AND EVENTS ON MY PART AND SOME BAD LUCK CAUSED THIS. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED WITH BETTER PREPARATION AND MORE CONTACT WITH ATC. I DID NOT HAVE FLT FOLLOWING FOR THE LAST PART OF THE TRIP.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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