A student pilot on his first solo cross country trespassed into multiple air spaces without clearance; including crossing an international border.
Synopsis
A student pilot on his first solo cross country trespassed into multiple air spaces without clearance; including crossing an international border.
Narrative
I prepared a flight plan for my first solo cross country. Prior to departure I reviewed the flight plan with my CFI. It was my intention during planning to stay clear of the Class B Airspace. I failed to realize during planning that this route of flight put me right over the US border as I moved north.I received VFR flight following through the Class B Airspace and also Class C Airspace. The Class C's Approach terminated my flight following as I left their space and did not hand me off to the next Class B's Approach. I should have contacted the next Class B's Approach for VFR flight following and did not do so; as at that time I believed I was on my intended course and was at approximately 2;000 FT MSL to stay below the approximate 3;500 FT broken clouds which would keep me clear of the Class B Airspace. I was in a foreign country's airspace without having contacted foreign ATC for permission and to receive a squawk code. At that time I was squawking VFR. At the time I was east of my intended course and passed just east of a foreign airport (although I didn't know it was a foreign airport at that time) and then turned northwest. Shortly afterwards I passed through the outer edge of a Class D Airspace on the northeast side at approximately 2;000 FT MSL.When I arrived at my destination I was told that a Class B's Approach and Tower wanted to talk to me. I phoned and spoke with both and explained that I was a student pilot on my first cross country solo. They took my license number and contact information. Immediately afterwards I phoned my CFI and told him what I knew about these mistakes at that time; although the detail did not become clear to me until I reviewed my flight plan and my chart. My CFI and I discussed what had happened and an alternative route for my return trip. It is clear to me now that my preflight planning contained an error in my route as described above and that I erred in not getting flight following from Class B's Approach which would have prevented my mistakes.My return route of flight took me west I picked up flight following; with hand offs from Approach shortly after departure and the return trip was uneventful. When I landed at my home airport I met with my CFI who at that point had talked to Approach to get further detail on the incident. He and I discussed the mistake I had made and how it could have been prevented.
Second reporter narrative
A student pilot that I signed off on for a solo cross country inadvertently violated two Class D air spaces; one of which was in a foreign country.Looking at some of the causes and solutions for the airspace violation there are three that stand out. The first being the inexperience of a student pilot. Had he been a more experienced pilot; he would have know to ask for flight following with hand-offs to his destination. This would have let the first ATC know that flight following was intended for the whole route and not just part of it. A second cause and solution for the violation is the rule on student pilots training and flying in Class B Airspace. The regulation states that in order to fly in a Class B the student must have trained in each specific Class B they wish to fly in. If we were able to train in one Class B and then provide a general Class B endorsement; my student would have been able to fly through the Class B and avoid the other Class D's all together.While this mistake was an unfortunate one it has not been made in vain and was turned into positive learning lesson for both myself and my student.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.