TCA PENETRATION WITHOUT CLRNC.

Narrative

ON THE RETURN TRIP I PICKED UP C.A.P. RADIO TFC INDICATING THE START OF AN ELT SEARCH BY CO. I RADIOED MY ETA AT BUCKLEY ANGB TO THE MISSION COORDINATOR AND CONTINUED ENRTE. SHORTLY AFTER XING THE CO/WY BORDER I PICKED UP A POSITIVE ELT SIGNAL ON 121.5 WHICH WAS INTERMITTENT AND OF SHORT DURATION. AGAIN; I RADIOED THE C.A.P. MISSION COORDINATOR WITH THE INFO AND FOR A TIME; DIVERTED MY ATTN TO THE ON BOARD DIRECTION FINDING EQUIP. THE FOLLOWING 20-30 MINS; WHICH ONLY SEEMED LIKE 10; WERE EXTREMELY BUSY. I WAS COMMUNICATING WITH ANOTHER C.A.P. ACFT ON THE ACFT VHF; NUMEROUS C.A.P. GND STATIONS ON THE C.A.P. VHF-FM AND ANSWERING MANY QUESTIONS ASKED BY MY 2 NON C.A.P. PAX. DURING ALL THIS I KEPT AN EYE ON THE ELT DF EQUIP AND THE TSTMS DEVELOPING IN FRONT OF ME. THE DEN AREA WAS OBSCURED BY THESE TSTMS. I REALIZED I WAS LOST WHEN 1 PAX ASKED WHICH TOWN WE WERE FLYING OVER; AND I VERY CONFIDENTLY REPLIED; 'GREELEY.' SHE SAID IT DIDN'T LOOK LIKE GREELEY; SO I CHKED THE CHART TO VERIFY LANDMARKS AND SUDDENLY REALIZED THAT NOT ONLY WAS I NOT FLYING OVER GREELEY; I HAD NO IDEA WHERE I WAS. NOTHING LOOKED FAMILIAR. NAVIGATING AROUND THE DECAYING CUMULUS AND RAIN; I IDENTED BUCKLEY ANGB AND KNEW THEN I WAS IN THE TCA. I CONTACTED BUCKLEY TWR AND LANDED. BUCKLEY TWR INSTRUCTED ME TO CALL DEN TWR; WHICH I DID. I ALLOWED MYSELF TO BE SO DISTRACTED BY EXTERNAL FACTORS THAT I LOST TRACK OF MY POS. THEN; APCHING DEN FROM A DIRECTION WITH WHICH I WAS UNFAMILIAR; REALIZED THE TCA VIOLATION BY LITERALLY STUMBLING ONTO MY DEST ARPT. I FEEL THERE IS NO EXCUSE AND HOPE THAT MY EXPERIENCE MAY KEEP SOMEONE ELSE FROM THIS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION.