Flight Lesson: Wandering Flight

I was never in any danger of completing my primary training in the minimum hours required by the FAA. Fortunately, what I lacked in natural physical coordination I was able to somewhat compensate for with some aptitude for math. So I enjoyed learning navigation and planning cross-country solo flights. In fact, I was happy to forego use of an electronic calculator in favor of a good old mechanical E6B. With this, a plotter, charts, and no GPS, I had my flight plan ready for my first solo flight to a brand-new destination.

The weather that morning was overcast with significant snow forecast later in the day. But the system would move in from the west, while my fight would be to the east. After reviewing my planning, my instructor signed off on the flight. Off I went, departing from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in a Cessna 150 Aerobat.

I contacted Harrisburg Approach soon after takeoff and requested radar traffic advisories. A few minutes later, I was approaching the Susquehanna River and still climbing when I passed through a light snow flurry. It was clear that despite the predicted 6,000-foot ceiling, I would not be able to achieve my planned altitude of 5,500 feet. Should I continue, and, if so, what was the new plan? The view ahead was clear and the terrain was generally flat, with decreasing elevation to the east. Heading east at 3,500 feet was safe, and the ceiling was good for a return at 4,500 feet. I decided to continue.

I went back to navigating only to find that nothing directly below me looked like it should. My heading was 30 degrees north of the planned course. I turned back to the intended heading and added 10 degrees to correct for my excursion, and then asked ATC for a heading to Reading, my first destination. They provided it, adding, “Exactly the course you’re currently on.” I had just gotten a lesson in allowing distractions to divert me from navigating.

After the obligatory landing to a full stop at Reading, I continued on the second leg of the flight. This took me south down the Delmarva Peninsula to my next destination: Summit Field near Middletown, Delaware. After my first checkpoint, I switched from the New York to the Washington sectional and looked for my second checkpoint of the leg. Instead, I focused on the second checkpoint on the chart, which was actually the third checkpoint of the leg. As both checkpoints were airports, I did not readily catch the error. Soon, nothing below me appeared like the section of the chart. However, I could see the Delaware and Chesapeake bays ahead. As my destination was between them, I flew on and finally spotted an airport that I recognized as Coatesville. This was the actual second checkpoint of the leg. I now understood my error, which resulted from distraction while I switched charts. I landed at Summit and took a short break.

Departing from Summit, I spent several minutes attempting to contact Millville FSS to open a VFR flight plan. I finally realized the radio volume button was partially pulled out in the test position. When I returned to navigation, once again, the view below was not what I expected. I had allowed another distraction to cause me to wander off course. I searched for my checkpoint, which was a town with three race tracks near it. But I found that placing three oval tracks near each other was a surprisingly popular thing to do in this area. Fortunately, the next checkpoint was a power plant on the Susquehanna River, which I sighted easily. Approximately 45 minutes later I arrived back in Carlisle.

Reviewing the flight, I concluded that my planning and basic flying were fine, and I had worked through issues with weather and ATC at two different airports. However, I had not known my precise location at some point on each of the three legs. None of these situations persisted to the point of danger, but it was clear I needed to keep this from happening in the future. Dealing with unexpected snow and the need to change my planned altitude, focusing on the wrong checkpoint after switching between charts, and spending too much time resolving a secondary communications issue distracted me. On future flights I would need to ensure that when situations like these arise, they would be properly prioritized and not supersede the basics of piloting and navigating.

By Vince Pascucci

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