PA28-180 OWNER STUDENT PLT AS PAX WAS AGITATED WITH THE COMMERCIAL PLT ATTEMPTING TO FLY THE TRANSITION AND APCH TO AN UNCTLED ARPT TO THE POINT THAT HE RETUNED THE COM RADIO TO AN UNUSED FREQ; LOSING ALL CONTACT WITH APCH CTL. SINCE THIS WAS THE RPTR'S FIRST COMMERCIAL FLT; SHE WAS SO UPSET THAT SHE FORGOT TO CLOSE HER IFR FLT PLAN AFTER A SUCCESSFUL LNDG.

Narrative

MY FIRST FLT AS A COMMERCIAL PLT WAS TO FLY AN OWNER'S AIRPLANE WITH THE OWNER (THIS PERSON WAS ALSO A 50 HR STUDENT PLT) AS THE R SEAT PAX. A WEAK COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH THE PREVIOUS NIGHT LEFT A THIN CLOUD LAYER OVER THE DEPARTING ARPT EXTENDING FROM CENTRAL GEORGIA (CSG) TO SPARTENBURG MEMORIAL ARPT (SPA); OUR INTENDED DEST; REQUIRING AN IFR FLT PLAN. THE PLANE WAS EQUIPPED WITH A PANEL MOUNTED VFR GPS AND A SINGLE VOR/ILS/GS RECEIVER. THE FIRST PROB I NOTICED ENRTE WAS A WEAKNESS IN THE VOR RECEIVER AND I STRUGGLED TO MAINTAIN THE VICTOR AIRWAY I WAS TRACKING. MY PAX PROCEEDED TO GET A SECOND GPS (A HANDHELD) AND SHOW ME THE ERRATIC TRACK I HAD BEEN FLYING; IMPLYING THAT I DID NOT KNOW THAT I WAS DOING. AFTER HELPING ME WITH 1 CORRECTION; ATC CLRED ME TO PROCEED DIRECT TO THE ELECTRIC CITY VOR (ELW). I PREPARED THE AIRPLANE FOR THE UPCOMING ILS APCH AND CHKED AWOS AT SPA. THE CEILING WAS RPTED AT 600 FT AND WINDS ON THE SURFACE 230 DEGS AT 7 KTS. I HAD A 35 KT TAILWIND AT 3000 FT. I WAS ASSIGNED A HDG OF 090 DEGS AND AN ALT OF 2500 FT TO INTERCEPT THE LOC AND WAS CLRED FOR THE APCH. AS I WAS MAKING THE TURN AND DSNDING INTO THE CLOUDS; MY PAX (WHO AT THIS POINT WAS APPARENTLY AGITATED ABOUT MY FLYING SKILLS) SHOUTED AT ME THAT HIS HANDHELD GPS SAID THAT I NEEDED TO FLY 070 DEGS TO GO THE ARPT; NOT 090 DEGS. I INFORMED HIM THAT I WAS FOLLOWING ATC'S INSTRUCTIONS AND FLYING AN INST APCH. WHILE DSNDING TO 2500 FT; WE ENTERED TURB AND WINDSHEAR AND RAPIDLY LOST SEVERAL HUNDRED FT. I ARRESTED THE DSCNT AND STARTED TO CLB BACK TO MY ASSIGNED ALT WHEN ATC REMINDED ME OF MY INSTRUCTIONS. I ACKNOWLEDGED AND CONTINUED WITH THE APCH; STRUGGLING WITH THE AIRPLANE THROUGH MODERATE TURB. WITHIN A COUPLE OF SECONDS OF MY LAST XMISSION TO ATC; MY PAX PANICKED AND SCREAMED FOR HELP ON THE RADIO. I HEARD ATC GIVING HIM INSTRUCTIONS TO CHANGE THE FREQ AND BEFORE I COULD STOP HIM; HE CHANGES TO A USELESS FREQ AND I NO LONGER HAD COM WITH GREER APCH OR ANYONE. AT THIS POINT; I FEARED THE PAX WOULD ATTEMPT TO TAKE CTL OF THE AIRPLANE; SO HAVING ALREADY RECEIVED CLRNC FROM GREER AND THIS BEING A NON TWRED ARPT; I FELT THE SAFEST COURSE OF ACTION WAS TO CONTINUE THE APCH AND LAND. IN THE CONFUSION AND STRESS CAUSED BY MY SHOUTING; PANICKED PAX; I FORGOT TO CANCEL MY IFR CLRNC. LATER IN THE DAY AFTER REMEMBERING MY MISTAKE; I CONTACTED GREER APCH BY PHONE AND SPOKE WITH THE ON-DUTY SUPVR ABOUT MY LOSS OF RADIO COMS AND FAILURE TO CLOSE THE FLT PLAN. THE SUPVR STATED THAT HE COULD NOT FIND ANY NOTES OF PROBS OR ENTRIES IN THE LOGS FOR EARLIER IN THE DAY. I FEEL THAT CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE MY LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE; THE WX CREATING APPREHENSION IN THE PAX; AND THE FACT THAT THE OWNER WAS A STUDENT PLT WHO KNEW JUST ENOUGH TO CAUSE PROBS IN THE COCKPIT. ADHERING TO CHKLISTS AND PROCS ARE THE BEST ASSURANCE FOR NOT REPEATING THIS MISTAKE. ALSO; MAINTAINING A HIGHER LEVEL OF CTL AS PIC TO ENSURE NO PAX INTERFERENCE WITH THE SAFE OP OF THE ACFT. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THAT SHE APOLOGIZED TO THE PAX UPON LNDG IN THAT SHE WAS SORRY THAT HE FELT THAT HER FLYING SCARED HIM AND WAS UNACCEPTABLE IN AN EFFORT TO DEFUSE THE PAX'S ATTITUDE. HOWEVER; SHE DID SEND A COPY OF THIS RPT TO THE PAX IN AN EFFORT TO INFORM HIM THAT HIS BEHAVIOR WAS NOT ONLY VERY DISTRACTING; BUT ALSO IN VIOLATION OF THE FARS. SHE CALLED THE APCH FACILITY AND INFORMED THEM OF HER PAX PROB AND NOT CLOSING HER FLT PLAN SOONER. HOWEVER; THEY HAD ALREADY CHKED AND FOUND THAT SHE HAD LANDED SAFELY.