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|
Attributes | |
ACN | 1431500 |
Time | |
Date | 201703 |
Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
Place | |
Locale Reference | KFP.Airport |
State Reference | AK |
Environment | |
Flight Conditions | VMC |
Light | Daylight |
Aircraft 1 | |
Make Model Name | Small Transport |
Operating Under FAR Part | Part 135 |
Flight Phase | Descent |
Route In Use | Visual Approach Direct |
Flight Plan | VFR |
Person 1 | |
Function | Pilot Flying Single Pilot |
Qualification | Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 260 Flight Crew Total 6600 Flight Crew Type 132 |
Events | |
Anomaly | Airspace Violation All Types Deviation - Procedural FAR Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
I was on a VFR flight to false pass (kfp) along the alaskan peninsula. I was on a company flight plan. I was flying southwest at 10;500 msl and passing cold bay (cdb) airport. While I was still 25 miles north east of cold bay; I contacted the cold bay FSS and gave my altitude; heading; and my route of flight. I was planning on going to false pass airport to drop off a passenger; and then back to cold bay. The FSS gave me traffic and weather updates. I descended into kfp; which is about 15 miles southwest of cdb. As I entered the pattern at kfp; I was alerted by another pilot that I should be on a DVFR flight plan. When I landed I immediately called kenai FSS because I was unaware that I was near an ADIZ. Upon further inspection; I found that kfp; which is a VFR-only airport on us soil in alaska; is about 5 miles outside the ADIZ. My plan was to file a DVFR plan to the north while I was on the phone with kenai FSS. Midway through my conversation with the FSS; the cell connection was lost. I tried multiple times to reach kenai and each time was given a recording about a phone system error. Cell phone coverage in the remote villages is often very bad. I proceeded to depart kfp and immediately exit the ADIZ; and land the very first airport (cdb) about 15 miles away. Enroute I contacted the cdb FSS; and they informed me that I was being contacted on 121.5. I tried to reach someone multiple times on that frequency but received no answer. I landed at cdb 5 minutes after departing kfp.I believe that a lot can be done to change this situation. First; I should have done better homework. This was my first time at this airport; and I did a thorough check of weather; notams; alaska supplement; etc. Before the flight but I relied on my GPS and navaids rather than consulting the sectional for navigation to the airport. Nothing about the ADIZ was noted in any of my prefight material. Also; the airplane is equipped with dual garmin gpss; a moving map display; adsb; and synthetic vision. None of these alerted me to the close proximity of the ADIZ. Also; when I spoke to the FSS well northeast of the ADIZ; and expressed my route of flight; absolutely nothing was mentioned to me about the ADIZ on my route of flight even though I did not have a flight plan in his system. It would have been extremely simple to land and file a DVFR flight plan at that moment. Also; why is a state-run; VFR only village airport in alaska this close to an ADIZ? The ADIZ needs to be moved in my opinion. There is a lot of air traffic in that area; and not all of it is IFR. The cell phones are regularly a problem in the alaskan villages; and any airplane that lands at kfp and cannot contact the FSS is stuck outside the ADIZ. This is a problem. Finally; I spoke with my chief pilot and director of operations. They are immediately issuing a company bulletin for all pilots about the location of the ADIZ in order to prevent future incursions.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: An air taxi pilot was informed by another pilot in the traffic pattern at KFP that he should be on a DVFR flight plan since the airport is 10 NM into the Alaskan ADIZ.
Narrative: I was on a VFR flight to False Pass (KFP) along the Alaskan Peninsula. I was on a company flight plan. I was flying southwest at 10;500 msl and passing Cold Bay (CDB) airport. While I was still 25 miles north east of Cold Bay; I contacted the Cold Bay FSS and gave my altitude; heading; and my route of flight. I was planning on going to False Pass airport to drop off a passenger; and then back to Cold Bay. The FSS gave me traffic and weather updates. I descended into KFP; which is about 15 miles southwest of CDB. As I entered the pattern at KFP; I was alerted by another pilot that I should be on a DVFR flight plan. When I landed I immediately called Kenai FSS because I was unaware that I was near an ADIZ. Upon further inspection; I found that KFP; which is a VFR-only airport on US soil in Alaska; is about 5 miles outside the ADIZ. My plan was to file a DVFR plan to the north while I was on the phone with Kenai FSS. Midway through my conversation with the FSS; the cell connection was lost. I tried multiple times to reach Kenai and each time was given a recording about a phone system error. Cell phone coverage in the remote villages is often very bad. I proceeded to depart KFP and immediately exit the ADIZ; and land the very first airport (CDB) about 15 miles away. Enroute I contacted the CDB FSS; and they informed me that I was being contacted on 121.5. I tried to reach someone multiple times on that frequency but received no answer. I landed at CDB 5 minutes after departing KFP.I believe that a lot can be done to change this situation. First; I should have done better homework. This was my first time at this airport; and I did a thorough check of weather; Notams; Alaska Supplement; etc. before the flight but I relied on my GPS and navaids rather than consulting the Sectional for navigation to the airport. Nothing about the ADIZ was noted in any of my prefight material. Also; the airplane is equipped with dual Garmin GPSs; a moving map display; ADSB; and synthetic vision. NONE of these alerted me to the close proximity of the ADIZ. Also; when I spoke to the FSS well northeast of the ADIZ; and expressed my route of flight; absolutely nothing was mentioned to me about the ADIZ on my route of flight even though I did not have a flight plan in his system. It would have been extremely simple to land and file a DVFR flight plan at that moment. Also; why is a State-run; VFR only village airport in Alaska this close to an ADIZ? The ADIZ needs to be moved in my opinion. There is a lot of air traffic in that area; and not all of it is IFR. The cell phones are regularly a problem in the Alaskan villages; and any airplane that lands at KFP and cannot contact the FSS is stuck outside the ADIZ. This is a problem. Finally; I spoke with my Chief Pilot and Director of Operations. They are immediately issuing a company bulletin for all pilots about the location of the ADIZ in order to prevent future incursions.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.