1988-01 · NASA ASRS report 80275
POSSIBLE PENETRATION OF TCA OR ATA AT DCA DUE TO CONFUSING COM BY BWI APCH CTLR.
I DEPARTED BWI; VFR; AND DEP CTL CLRED ME ON COURSE AT 2000'. MY COURSE WAS 190 DEGS AND I WAS HDG TOWARD PATUXENT RIVER TO THE S. I THEN CONTACTED PATUXENT APCH FOR CLRNC AND ADVISORIES IN THEIR AREA. THEY CLRED ME AT 2000' AND PRESENT HDG. ALTHOUGH IT LOOKED TO ME LIKE MY HDG WOULD PUT ME CLR OF THE DCA TCA; I ASKED THEM IF I SHOULD CONTACT DCA CTL. THEY THEN GAVE ME THE FREQ FOR DCA CTL AND I CONTACTED THEM. THEY FIRST SAID I WAS ALREADY IN THEIR TCA; WHEREAS I BELIEVED I WAS BELOW THE TCA ALT OF 2500' FOR THE SECTOR I WAS IN. THEY THEN SAID I WAS NOT IN THEIR AIRSPACE BUT IN ANDREWS AFB AIRSPACE AND INDEED IN THEIR TFC PATTERN. I CHKED MY TERMINAL CHART AND DME AND WAS 12 MI FROM ANDREWS AFB. THE CHART SHOWS THEIR TFC AREAS AS 5 MI FROM THE ARPT. NORMALLY; WHEN DEPARTING BWI; IF YOUR HDG AND ALT LEAD YOU INTO THE DCA TCA; BWI CLRS YOU TO CONTACT DCA RADAR. THEY DID NOT DO THIS ON THIS FLT. I BELIEVE I WAS CLR OF THE TCA (BELOW IT) AT MY ALT AND HDG AND THAT DCA RADAR WAS CONFUSED; FIRST SAYING I WAS IN THEIR AIRSPACE; THEN SAYING I WASN'T; BUT WAS IN ANDREWS AIRSPACE AND TFC PATTERN. I DON'T BELIEVE I WAS IN EITHER. BWI'S LACK OF CLRING ME TO DCA APCH FURTHER SUBSTANTIATES THIS; IN MY VIEW. MOST CONFUSING COM.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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