C177 pilot following ground landmarks misidented hwys and flew into class B airspace.

Attributes
ACN	385240
Time
Date	199711
Day	Sat
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	atc facility : den
State Reference	CO
Altitude	msl bound lower : 6500 msl bound upper : 6500
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tracon : den tracon : rdu
Operator	general aviation : personal
Make Model Name	Cardinal 177/177RG
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	cruise other
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Affiliation	Other
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Qualification	pilot : commercial pilot : instrument
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 30 flight time total : 4200 flight time type : 500
ASRS Report	385240
Person 2
Affiliation	government : faa
Function	controller : approach
Qualification	controller : radar
Events
Anomaly	non adherence : far non adherence : published procedure other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	none taken : detected after the fact
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

Leading loose (100-200 ft separation) formation flight with 2 experimental bi-planes. Looked for and spotted high tv antenna tower near 4 lane divided highway. The 4 lane divided highway I spotted was actually 6 NM east of the one I thought it was. I didn't notice the error until I saw where the 2 major hwys joined. At the point I realized I had taken the formation several mi across class B airspace approximately 300-500 above the floor of the airspace. Had I paid more attention to my terminal area chart and compared my heading with that of the 2 hwys, I would have noticed the error and descended out of the class B airspace. Know for certain, position in relation to controled airspace, when flying VFR.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C177 PLT FOLLOWING GND LANDMARKS MISIDENTED HWYS AND FLEW INTO CLASS B AIRSPACE.

Narrative: LEADING LOOSE (100-200 FT SEPARATION) FORMATION FLT WITH 2 EXPERIMENTAL BI-PLANES. LOOKED FOR AND SPOTTED HIGH TV ANTENNA TWR NEAR 4 LANE DIVIDED HWY. THE 4 LANE DIVIDED HWY I SPOTTED WAS ACTUALLY 6 NM E OF THE ONE I THOUGHT IT WAS. I DIDN'T NOTICE THE ERROR UNTIL I SAW WHERE THE 2 MAJOR HWYS JOINED. AT THE POINT I REALIZED I HAD TAKEN THE FORMATION SEVERAL MI ACROSS CLASS B AIRSPACE APPROX 300-500 ABOVE THE FLOOR OF THE AIRSPACE. HAD I PAID MORE ATTN TO MY TERMINAL AREA CHART AND COMPARED MY HEADING WITH THAT OF THE 2 HWYS, I WOULD HAVE NOTICED THE ERROR AND DSNDED OUT OF THE CLASS B AIRSPACE. KNOW FOR CERTAIN, POS IN RELATION TO CTLED AIRSPACE, WHEN FLYING VFR.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 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.