Narrative:

I may have entered inadvertently the air traffic area of warminster while on approach to pne. Our trip to pne was with very heavy xwinds at altitude. The usual displacement from the course line was to the left as we came up to various chkpoints on the ground. Most of the trip was navigated VFR and by pilotage until we came into range of the yardley VOR. Thereafter, we flew directly to yardley. At yardley, I contacted pne, told him of our position, that I had the ATIS information, and that my intentions were to land. During the first few xmissions, the tower controller told me to report at a racetrack. I responded that I was unfamiliar with the area, and that I would appreciate it if he would keep an eye on me as I approached. He acknowledged my xmissions and changed the report point to 2 mi from the airport for a landing on runway 24. I descended to an altitude low enough to stay a bit under the first layer of the TCA an pne and started in on the 215 degree right of yardley. Apparently the wind velocity at the lower altitude was also higher than I had expected down there, since I must have been crabbing into it rather extensively, especially at the lower airspeed. The only other airport that I anticipated that I might see through the haze is a unicom airport on the terminal chart called buehl which would be to the left of my course, ie, in the direction in which we had been drifting and correcting for throughout the trip. I didn't see buehl but presently I did see exactly what I expected to see: just a bit off to the right of the nose of the aircraft there appeared what I thought was pne. At that point I went entirely visibility and started to maneuver toward the airport. I reported to the tower that I had the airport in sight and asked for confirmation of my position. In between some communication delays, he said that he had lost my target among the other targets, that he couldn't confirm about the tanks, and he asked me to identify, which I did. During the communications, I began to grow a bit concerned that the tower hadn't yet spotted me and that the angle of what I could see of the runway in the distance was close but did not seem to quite mesh with what I would expect. After a while, the tower told me then that he did not receive the identify and to try again, which I did immediately and then waited some more. Within the space of the next few moments, the tower and I had several exchanges in which he told me that he did not receive my second identify either. I told him that I would recycle my transponder. I turned it off and on and then idented again. Meanwhile, my aircraft was getting closer to what I still believed to be pne despite the squawk problem with my transponder. The problem seemed to be one of avionics rather than navigation. I was now getting close enough to just see the runway #south through the haze and to confirm visually and with my dg that this was not a runway 24--I believe it was 27. This really surprised and concerned me. Immediately I reported this to the tower, and he confirmed what I then expected: that they did not have a runway 27. Simultaneously with this and with his telling me that he had now received my squawk return and giving me a distance and vector to pne, I knew that I was in the wrong airspace. I instantly broke off the approach, looked for traffic and continued to look for traffic as I turned right and then into a normal left hand pattern around the airport, which I now assumed to be buehl although it had been bigger than I would have expected. I cleared the airport in a few seconds and locked onto the vector that the tower had given me. After a couple of mins, the real pne appeared through the haze, and I landed. I reconstructed the event, and I determined that I probably entered an air traffic area to the west of my intended course which had to warminster. I must assume that I descended below 3000' AGL during my approach to the airport and during my exchanged with the tower. My fundamental error was the decision to go entirely visibility and to stay entirely visibility as soon as I saw through the haze what I believed was my destination airport, with which I was in radio communication. I had no doubt that I was in proper communication with tower and that I was approaching pne in a perfectly routine and proper manner. The delays with communication and the repeated problems with the transponder squawk intervened and became a second very important factor that brought me much closer to what I still thought was pne. If I had not requested tower confirmation, I probably would have done what I should have done initially: go back to the instruments and recognize my error. A third factor was the light haze which prevented me from seeing the real pne although it was actually not very far away at all. There were no other distinct landmarks visible on the ground. My transponder was certified this past jan. The mon after this event, I made an appointment for it to be rechked. They have found a loose piece of solder which was shorting the input to one chip and other problems as yet undiagnosed with both the transponder and the encoder.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PENETRATED ATA, ASSUMED IT WAS UNCONTROLLED ARPT NEAR COURSE.

Narrative: I MAY HAVE ENTERED INADVERTENTLY THE ATA OF WARMINSTER WHILE ON APCH TO PNE. OUR TRIP TO PNE WAS WITH VERY HVY XWINDS AT ALT. THE USUAL DISPLACEMENT FROM THE COURSE LINE WAS TO THE LEFT AS WE CAME UP TO VARIOUS CHKPOINTS ON THE GND. MOST OF THE TRIP WAS NAVIGATED VFR AND BY PILOTAGE UNTIL WE CAME INTO RANGE OF THE YARDLEY VOR. THEREAFTER, WE FLEW DIRECTLY TO YARDLEY. AT YARDLEY, I CONTACTED PNE, TOLD HIM OF OUR POS, THAT I HAD THE ATIS INFO, AND THAT MY INTENTIONS WERE TO LAND. DURING THE FIRST FEW XMISSIONS, THE TWR CTLR TOLD ME TO RPT AT A RACETRACK. I RESPONDED THAT I WAS UNFAMILIAR WITH THE AREA, AND THAT I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF HE WOULD KEEP AN EYE ON ME AS I APCHED. HE ACKNOWLEDGED MY XMISSIONS AND CHANGED THE RPT POINT TO 2 MI FROM THE ARPT FOR A LNDG ON RWY 24. I DSNDED TO AN ALT LOW ENOUGH TO STAY A BIT UNDER THE FIRST LAYER OF THE TCA AN PNE AND STARTED IN ON THE 215 DEG R OF YARDLEY. APPARENTLY THE WIND VELOCITY AT THE LOWER ALT WAS ALSO HIGHER THAN I HAD EXPECTED DOWN THERE, SINCE I MUST HAVE BEEN CRABBING INTO IT RATHER EXTENSIVELY, ESPECIALLY AT THE LOWER AIRSPD. THE ONLY OTHER ARPT THAT I ANTICIPATED THAT I MIGHT SEE THROUGH THE HAZE IS A UNICOM ARPT ON THE TERMINAL CHART CALLED BUEHL WHICH WOULD BE TO THE LEFT OF MY COURSE, IE, IN THE DIRECTION IN WHICH WE HAD BEEN DRIFTING AND CORRECTING FOR THROUGHOUT THE TRIP. I DIDN'T SEE BUEHL BUT PRESENTLY I DID SEE EXACTLY WHAT I EXPECTED TO SEE: JUST A BIT OFF TO THE RIGHT OF THE NOSE OF THE ACFT THERE APPEARED WHAT I THOUGHT WAS PNE. AT THAT POINT I WENT ENTIRELY VIS AND STARTED TO MANEUVER TOWARD THE ARPT. I RPTED TO THE TWR THAT I HAD THE ARPT IN SIGHT AND ASKED FOR CONFIRMATION OF MY POS. IN BTWN SOME COM DELAYS, HE SAID THAT HE HAD LOST MY TARGET AMONG THE OTHER TARGETS, THAT HE COULDN'T CONFIRM ABOUT THE TANKS, AND HE ASKED ME TO IDENT, WHICH I DID. DURING THE COMS, I BEGAN TO GROW A BIT CONCERNED THAT THE TWR HADN'T YET SPOTTED ME AND THAT THE ANGLE OF WHAT I COULD SEE OF THE RWY IN THE DISTANCE WAS CLOSE BUT DID NOT SEEM TO QUITE MESH WITH WHAT I WOULD EXPECT. AFTER A WHILE, THE TWR TOLD ME THEN THAT HE DID NOT RECEIVE THE IDENT AND TO TRY AGAIN, WHICH I DID IMMEDIATELY AND THEN WAITED SOME MORE. WITHIN THE SPACE OF THE NEXT FEW MOMENTS, THE TWR AND I HAD SEVERAL EXCHANGES IN WHICH HE TOLD ME THAT HE DID NOT RECEIVE MY SECOND IDENT EITHER. I TOLD HIM THAT I WOULD RECYCLE MY XPONDER. I TURNED IT OFF AND ON AND THEN IDENTED AGAIN. MEANWHILE, MY ACFT WAS GETTING CLOSER TO WHAT I STILL BELIEVED TO BE PNE DESPITE THE SQUAWK PROB WITH MY XPONDER. THE PROB SEEMED TO BE ONE OF AVIONICS RATHER THAN NAV. I WAS NOW GETTING CLOSE ENOUGH TO JUST SEE THE RWY #S THROUGH THE HAZE AND TO CONFIRM VISUALLY AND WITH MY DG THAT THIS WAS NOT A RWY 24--I BELIEVE IT WAS 27. THIS REALLY SURPRISED AND CONCERNED ME. IMMEDIATELY I RPTED THIS TO THE TWR, AND HE CONFIRMED WHAT I THEN EXPECTED: THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE A RWY 27. SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH THIS AND WITH HIS TELLING ME THAT HE HAD NOW RECEIVED MY SQUAWK RETURN AND GIVING ME A DISTANCE AND VECTOR TO PNE, I KNEW THAT I WAS IN THE WRONG AIRSPACE. I INSTANTLY BROKE OFF THE APCH, LOOKED FOR TFC AND CONTINUED TO LOOK FOR TFC AS I TURNED RIGHT AND THEN INTO A NORMAL LEFT HAND PATTERN AROUND THE ARPT, WHICH I NOW ASSUMED TO BE BUEHL ALTHOUGH IT HAD BEEN BIGGER THAN I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED. I CLRED THE ARPT IN A FEW SECS AND LOCKED ONTO THE VECTOR THAT THE TWR HAD GIVEN ME. AFTER A COUPLE OF MINS, THE REAL PNE APPEARED THROUGH THE HAZE, AND I LANDED. I RECONSTRUCTED THE EVENT, AND I DETERMINED THAT I PROBABLY ENTERED AN ATA TO THE W OF MY INTENDED COURSE WHICH HAD TO WARMINSTER. I MUST ASSUME THAT I DSNDED BELOW 3000' AGL DURING MY APCH TO THE ARPT AND DURING MY EXCHANGED WITH THE TWR. MY FUNDAMENTAL ERROR WAS THE DECISION TO GO ENTIRELY VIS AND TO STAY ENTIRELY VIS AS SOON AS I SAW THROUGH THE HAZE WHAT I BELIEVED WAS MY DEST ARPT, WITH WHICH I WAS IN RADIO COM. I HAD NO DOUBT THAT I WAS IN PROPER COM WITH TWR AND THAT I WAS APCHING PNE IN A PERFECTLY ROUTINE AND PROPER MANNER. THE DELAYS WITH COM AND THE REPEATED PROBS WITH THE XPONDER SQUAWK INTERVENED AND BECAME A SECOND VERY IMPORTANT FACTOR THAT BROUGHT ME MUCH CLOSER TO WHAT I STILL THOUGHT WAS PNE. IF I HAD NOT REQUESTED TWR CONFIRMATION, I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE DONE WHAT I SHOULD HAVE DONE INITIALLY: GO BACK TO THE INSTRUMENTS AND RECOGNIZE MY ERROR. A THIRD FACTOR WAS THE LIGHT HAZE WHICH PREVENTED ME FROM SEEING THE REAL PNE ALTHOUGH IT WAS ACTUALLY NOT VERY FAR AWAY AT ALL. THERE WERE NO OTHER DISTINCT LANDMARKS VISIBLE ON THE GND. MY XPONDER WAS CERTIFIED THIS PAST JAN. THE MON AFTER THIS EVENT, I MADE AN APPOINTMENT FOR IT TO BE RECHKED. THEY HAVE FOUND A LOOSE PIECE OF SOLDER WHICH WAS SHORTING THE INPUT TO ONE CHIP AND OTHER PROBS AS YET UNDIAGNOSED WITH BOTH THE XPONDER AND THE ENCODER.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of August 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.