A PA28R PILOT ACKNOWLEDGES SEVERAL ERRORS FOLLOWING A RADIO FAILURE THAT ALLOWED HIM TO FLY IN A HEAVILY VFR CORRIDOR AND NOT LAND IMMEDIATELY.

Narrative

LCL SIGHTSEEING FLT LEAVING PAO; TRANSITIONING ADJACENT SQL; TO ENTER SFO CLASS B (BAYSHORE TRANSITION). DEPARTING PAO; EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL; HANDED OFF TO SQL; MADE CONTACT; REQUESTED TRANSITION. FIRST INDICATION OF PROB WAS THE RADIO SOUNDING AS IF THERE WAS A 'STUCK MIKE' ON FREQ. I ASKED THE TWR WHO REPLIED NEGATIVE. THEN; AFTER A FEW MOMENTS LATER; ALL I COULD HEAR WAS LOUD STATIC. I RPTED THE PROB TO SQL TWR AND RETURNED TO PAO. I COULD BARELY HEAR SQL/ATC ABOVE THE NOISE. THE NOISE WAS EXTREMELY DISTRACTING AND I HAD A FIRST-TIME PAX. ALL I COULD THINK OF WAS GETTING RIGHT BACK TO THE POINT OF ORIGIN WE HAD JUST DEPARTED. IN THE PROCESS; I MADE AT LEAST 3 ERRORS. FIRST; I SHOULD HAVE TURNED OFF THE RADIO; HEADED TO HAF -- UNCTLED -- TO CALL AND MAKE APPOINTMENT FOR NORDO PROC. IT'S THE TEXTBOOK SOLUTION AND IF ASKED ON THE GND BEFORE THIS; I WOULD HAVE GIVEN IT. SECOND; I FUMBLED THE RADIO A BIT BECAUSE MY MINIMAL EFFORT TO DIAGNOSE THE PROB INCLUDED SWITCHING RADIOS AND I HAD PAO TWR DIALED INTO THE OTHER RADIO. THIRDLY; TO MAKE MY U-TURN; I HEADED TOWARD RISING TERRAIN. I JUST WANTED TO GET OUT OF THE WAY OF HVY VFR TFC THAT RUNS ALONG THE HWY AND DID NOT REALLY CONSIDER WHETHER THERE WAS ROOM TO TURN AROUND. THERE WAS ADEQUATE ROOM AND MY PAX DID NOT NOTICE; BUT THE FACT IS THAT I INITIATED THE TURN WITHOUT CONSIDERING WHETHER THERE WAS ROOM. DISTR IS A KILLER!