A PA28 STUDENT PLT; ON A SOLO XCOUNTRY FLT; ENTERED CLASS D AIRSPACE OF AN ARPT HE MISTAKENLY IDENTED AS HIS DEST.
Synopsis
A PA28 STUDENT PLT; ON A SOLO XCOUNTRY FLT; ENTERED CLASS D AIRSPACE OF AN ARPT HE MISTAKENLY IDENTED AS HIS DEST.
Narrative
I WAS FLYING ON A STUDENT SOLO XCOUNTRY AND I WAS FLYING VFR ON A VICTOR AIRWAY TO A CLASS D ARPT. AS I WAS CRUISING; I NOTICED A LAYER OF CLOUDS AT MY ALT STRAIGHT AHEAD; SO I DSNDED AND CALLED TO REQUEST FLT FOLLOWING. I GOT IT AND FLEW FOR A WHILE UNTIL I GOT CLOSE TO THE ARPT. THE DME READ 8 NM AND THE CTLR SAID I WAS CLOSE ENOUGH TO CONTACT THE TWR. ATC ADVISED ME OF TFC AND CLRED ME TO LAND ON RWY 32. I ACCEPTED THE CLRNC; BUT I STILL DID NOT HAVE THE FIELD IN SIGHT. THE SECTIONAL WAS USELESS AT THIS POINT AND I BEGAN TO SCAN ALL AROUND ME; BECAUSE MAYBE I WAS A BIT OFF COURSE. I SPOTTED A FIELD TO MY L; A COUPLE OF MI AWAY. I CHKED THE RWY LAYOUT AND IT FIT THAT OF MY DEST ARPT SO I TURNED FINAL FOR RWY 32. ATC TOLD ME TO RPT A 5 MI FINAL AND SAID I WAS LESS THAN 5 MI ON FINAL. HE DIDN'T SEE ME YET; HE SAID. I CHKED MY DME AGAIN AND IT STARTED COUNTING UP FROM 8 TO 9 TO 10; ETC. THIS CONFUSED ME AND AS I GOT CLOSER; I NOTICED THAT THE RWY SAID '30.' I IMMEDIATELY APPLIED FULL PWR AND CLBED ABOVE TPA TO TURN AWAY FROM THE ARPT. I TOLD TWR THAT I HAD THE WRONG FIELD AND THEY ASKED ME IF I KNEW WHERE I WAS. AFTER A FEW SECONDS OF STUDYING THE FIELDS SURROUNDING MY DEST ARPT; I FOUND ONE THAT WAS VERY SIMILAR AND CONCLUDED THAT IT WAS THIS ARPT I WAS ACTUALLY AT. ATC SAID IT WAS OK BECAUSE THAT CLASS D TWR HAD CONTACTED THEM. I EVENTUALLY FOUND MY INTENDED ARPT AND CALLED EACH SEGMENT OF MY PATTERN; AS IF IT WERE A NON TWRED ARPT; JUST TO BE EXTRA SURE THAT I HAD THE CORRECT FIELD THIS TIME. ONE OF THE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WAS THE WX. I HAD NEVER REALLY TRIED TO FIND AN UNFAMILIAR ARPT WITH VISIBILITY AS GRAY AND HAZY AS IT WAS. I WAS ALSO PREOCCUPIED BY LOOKING FOR TFC WHICH ATC SAID WAS DOING SPIRALS DOWN TO MY ALT. TO PREVENT A SIMILAR SIT FROM OCCURRING; I WILL TRUST MY INSTS MORE; BE A BIT MORE PATIENT BY WAITING FOR ATC TO SPOT ME AND WAIT UNTIL I HAVE POSITIVELY IDENTED THE FIELD BEFORE I ACCEPT A CLRNC TO LAND. DETAILS: I WAS IN A PIPER ARCHER WITH VOR/DME AND NO GPS. I WAS FLYING FROM BFR TO MIE ON V221; THE CLASS D AIRSPACE THAT I BREACHED WAS ANDERSON FIELD.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.