C172 VIOLATED THE DC ADIZ AND WAS INTERCEPTED BY A MIL HELI S OF W66.

Narrative

WHILE CONDUCTING A VFR PLEASURE FLT FROM W66; ON 05/SUN/03; I WAS INTERCEPTED BY A BLACKHAWK HELI AND HAILED ON 121.5. THE CREW INFORMED ME THAT I HAD VIOLATED THE WASHINGTON DC ADIZ. THEY GAVE ME NUMBERS FOR THE PCT TRACON AND THE NCRC. I WAS JUST A FEW MILES S OF W66 WHEN HAILED. THE HELI CREW; TRACON PERSONNEL; AND NCRC STAFF WAS UNFAILINGLY PROFESSIONAL AND COURTEOUS DURING THE WHOLE PROCESS. THE TRACON CTLR WAS PARTICULARLY HELPFUL. SHE DISCUSSED THE ADIZ WITH ME AND THEN INFORMED ME THAT SHE WOULD NOT FILE A PLT DEVIATION BASED ON THIS INCIDENT. MY INTENDED RTE WAS A SHORT ROUNDTRIP XC; AND THIS IS WHAT I HAD BRIEFED AND PLANNED. THIS TRIP TAKES YOU AWAY FROM THE ADIZ; TAKES JUST OVER AN HOUR TO COMPLETE. I HAD THE ACFT FROM XA00 TO XC00; BUT IT WAS ALMOST AN HOUR LATE RETURNING FROM ITS PREVIOUS FLT. IN ORDER TO ACCOMMODATE THE SCHEDULE I SWITCHED MY PLANS TO A LCL FLT. I DID NOT TAKE THE TIME TO REVIEW THE CHART FOR THIS LCL FLT SINCE I HAD MADE IT MANY TIMES; BUT NOT SINCE THE INTRODUCTION OF THE ADIZ; WHICH CUTS RIGHT THROUGH MY TOWN. SECOND MISTAKE WAS TO NAVIGATE PURELY VISUALLY. LEAVING W66 TO FIND WARRENTON; YOU FLY TOWARDS A BLUE WATER TWR. I FLEW TOWARDS A BLUE WATER TWR; BUT UPON CHKING MY HDG; IT WAS LEADING ME TOWARDS (AND; APPARENTLY; INTO) THE ADIZ. WHEN I RECOGNIZED THIS; I TURNED BACK TOWARD THE SW AND SPOTTED THE CORRECT BLUE WATER TWR AND THE TOWN. NEXT MISTAKE: I WAS FLYING AN ACFT EQUIPPED WITH A LARGE COLOR MOVING MAP GPS; BUT I DID NOT ACTIVATE IT SINCE THE WX WAS GREAT AND I 'KNEW THE AREA' QUITE WELL. I ORBITED THE TOWN A COUPLE OF TIMES AND PROCEED S AND FINALLY BACK TO LAND AT W66. I OBSERVED THE HELI ON A INTERCEPT MANEUVER AND HEARD THE CALL ON 121.5. BY THIS TIME I HAD BEEN WELL CLR OF THE ADIZ FOR SOME TIME. I THINK THIS ACCOUNTS FOR THE NICE TREATMENT BY THE HELI CREW; TRACON AND TSA. LESSONS LEARNED: WHEN CHANGING THE PLAN FOR A FLT; BE SURE TO GIVE THE NEW PLAN THE SAME ATTENTION AS THE ORIGINAL; DON'T DEPEND PURELY ON WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT THE AREA; AND USE ALL OF THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE (THAT MOVING MAP)!