PLT OF BE23 FAILED TO OBTAIN ADIZ CLRNC AND CODE PRIOR TO TKOF FOR SHORT FLT FROM W48 TO MTN. A POORLY CONDUCTED BRIEFING FROM AN ILL INFORMED FSS BRIEFER CONTRIBUTED TO THIS RPTR'S DILEMMA.

Narrative

I FLEW FROM MTN TO OXB IN A BEECHCRAFT SUNDOWNER (BE23) FOR A PLANNED DAY TRIP. MY INTENTIONS WERE TO DEP OCEAN CITY FOR THE RETURN TRIP TO ESSEX SKYPARK (W48). FRIDAY MORNING I CALLED FLT SVC AND FILED AN 'ADIZ' FLT PLAN FOR AN INTENDED TRANSITION W48 TO MTN; A SHORT 6 MI FLT. FLT SVC SEEMED A BIT CONFUSED WITH MY REQUEST. HE STATED THAT AN ADIZ FLT PLAN WAS FOR AN INTENDED FLT INTO; OR OUT OF; AN ADIZ AND WANTED TO KNOW WHERE MY EXIT OR ENTRANCE POINT MIGHT BE. THE BRIEFER I TALKED TO SAID HE COULD NOT ACCEPT MY FLT PLAN AS I WAS NEITHER ENTERING INTO NOR EXITING AN ADIZ AREA. I EXPLAINED THAT I WAS AT AN ARPT JUST 6 MI AWAY FROM MTN ARPT ALREADY INSIDE THE ADIZ. HE WENT ON TO SAY SOMETHING TO THE EFFECT OF SINCE I WAS ALREADY INSIDE THE ADIZ; HE WASN'T SURE OF THE EXACT PROC TO USE. I TOLD HIM I WOULD LIKE TO FILE MY ORIGINAL ADIZ FLT PLAN WITH A PROPOSED DEP TIME OF XA45. THIS WAS THE END OF THE CONVERSATION. I WAS NOT GIVEN ANY TYPE OF SQUAWK CODE OR PHONE NUMBER(S) TO CALL PRIOR TO TKOF. HAVING SUCCESSFULLY COMMUNICATED ON THE GND WITH POTOMAC APCH JUST A FEW HRS EARLIER; I WAS PRETTY CONFIDENT I COULD GET THEM AGAIN. WHEN I ARRIVED TO THE ARPT EARLY THAT MORNING; THE FBO WAS NOT OPEN. MY RIDE HAD ALREADY DROPPED ME OFF AT THE ARPT. I ATTEMPTED SEVERAL TIMES TO CONTACT POTOMAC APCH ON THE SAME FREQ I HAD SUCCESSFULLY COMMUNICATED WITH THEM ON JUST 4 HRS EARLIER. NO LUCK. I TRIED TO CALL POTOMAC APCH VIA MY CELL PHONE; BUT AT THIS ARPT AT THAT TIME OF THE MORNING; I WAS UNABLE TO GET A SIGNAL FROM MY CELL PHONE. I EXITED THE ACFT AND WALKED AROUND A BIT LOOKING FOR A PAY PHONE; BUT COULD NOT FIND ONE. I FIGURED SINCE I HAD ALREADY FILED THE ADIZ FLT PLAN FOR A DEP FROM THIS ARPT AT THIS TIME OF DAY; I COULD TAKE OFF; STAY IN THE PATTERN; GET MY SQUAWK CODE; AND FINISH MY PLANNED SHORT RETURN FLT. IMMEDIATELY UPON REACHING THE DOWNWIND LEG OF THE APCH PATTERN; I CONTACTED POTOMAC APCH AND ADVISED THEM OF MY INTENTIONS. THE CTLR IMMEDIATELY SNAPPED BACK THAT I HAD 'BUSTED THE ADIZ' AND ASKED ME WHAT MY DEST WAS. AFTER A BIT OF HESITATION; HE GAVE ME A SQUAWK CODE AND TOLD ME TO FLY DIRECT MTN ARPT AND TO ADVISE HIM WHEN I WAS READY TO WRITE DOWN A CONTACT NUMBER. I WROTE DOWN THE CONTACT NUMBER AND LANDED AT MTN ARPT. THE POTOMAC APCH FACILITY SUPVR INFORMED ME THAT HE WAS REQUIRED TO SUBMIT THIS INFO TO THE FSDO. MY MISTAKE WAS NOT GOING 'DOWN-THE-ROAD' TO MAKE A PHONE CALL AND OBTAIN A DISCRETE SQUAWK CODE PRIOR TO DEP. I CARRY WITH ME ON MY KNEEBOARD AN ADVISORY FORM I OBTAINED FROM PLT ORGANIZATION ON ADIZ OPS. I REMEMBERED ONE PARTICULAR LINE IN THIS CHKLIST THAT STATED 'DO NOT LEAVE THE VICINITY OF THE ARPT WITHOUT ATC APPROVAL AND RADIO CONTACT.' MY ERRONEOUS THINKING WAS TO 'STAY IN THE PATTERN' UNTIL I COULD WORK OUT A RELEASE BACK TO MTN ARPT. THE CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT LED UP TO THIS POOR DECISION ON MY PART WAS: 1) CONFUSION BTWN MYSELF AND THE FSS BRIEFER. THE DIFFICULTY IN GETTING AN ADIZ FLT PLAN FILED; AND THE ATTENDANT NOT GIVING ME EITHER A SQUAWK CODE OR CONTACT INFO LEFT ME A BIT PUZZLED AND CONFUSED ON MY PROC. 2) NO COMS WITH ATC PRIOR TO DEP. I FOUND MYSELF WITH NO IMMEDIATE OPTION TO CONTACT ATC ON THE GND. IN HINDSIGHT; I SHOULD HAVE PACKED THINGS UP AND WALKED TO AN AREA THAT EITHER HAD A PHONE OR WHERE A GOOD SIGNAL COULD BE OBTAINED ON MY CELL PHONE. I KNOW NOW THAT CONTACTING ATC 'IN THE AIR' PRIOR TO DEPARTING THE ATA WAS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE OPTION. SINCE THE INCIDENT; I HAVE BEEN IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH A FLT INSTRUCTOR. HE AND I HAVE THOROUGHLY REVIEWED ADIZ OPS.