Narrative:

I departed on a night cross country from lawrence municipal airport to taunton municipal airport VFR. The WX was clear with few high clouds and 4 days after a new moon. My choice -- route of flight was to follow interstate 495 around boston and back up my route with the GPS to find the airport in the dark. Upon departure, I picked up what I believed at the time to be route 495 and followed it. After 5 mins of following this highway, I was beginning to lose confidence that I was headed in the right direction, but I was not sure where I was in relation to the ground. I quickly determined I was following interstate 93 not interstate 495 and I had probably entered hanscom field's class D airspace and possibly bos class B airspace. I determined this by recognizing the intersection of route 93 and route 128 (95). I turned away from the city and headed directly west out of the airspace. Bos appeared to be landing runway 22 and hansom had no traffic. The major contributing factor in this incident was my lack of night VFR cross country currency. I have been flying primarily IFR for the 6 months prior to this incident, especially at night. A contributing factor was my reliance on my instruments and avionics over pilot skills that were somewhat rusty. I did not act quickly enough to determine my location until it had the potential to be a problem. The area around bos is extremely suburban whereas west of route 495 is rural. I should have been able to determine much earlier that what I thought was lower mass was actually bos. My intent is to refamiliarize myself with the area at night with an instructor so this will not happen again.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C172 PLT HAD INCURSION INTO BED CLASS D AND BOS CLASS B AIRSPACE.

Narrative: I DEPARTED ON A NIGHT XCOUNTRY FROM LAWRENCE MUNICIPAL ARPT TO TAUNTON MUNICIPAL ARPT VFR. THE WX WAS CLR WITH FEW HIGH CLOUDS AND 4 DAYS AFTER A NEW MOON. MY CHOICE -- RTE OF FLT WAS TO FOLLOW INTERSTATE 495 AROUND BOSTON AND BACK UP MY RTE WITH THE GPS TO FIND THE ARPT IN THE DARK. UPON DEP, I PICKED UP WHAT I BELIEVED AT THE TIME TO BE ROUTE 495 AND FOLLOWED IT. AFTER 5 MINS OF FOLLOWING THIS HWY, I WAS BEGINNING TO LOSE CONFIDENCE THAT I WAS HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, BUT I WAS NOT SURE WHERE I WAS IN RELATION TO THE GND. I QUICKLY DETERMINED I WAS FOLLOWING INTERSTATE 93 NOT INTERSTATE 495 AND I HAD PROBABLY ENTERED HANSCOM FIELD'S CLASS D AIRSPACE AND POSSIBLY BOS CLASS B AIRSPACE. I DETERMINED THIS BY RECOGNIZING THE INTXN OF RTE 93 AND RTE 128 (95). I TURNED AWAY FROM THE CITY AND HEADED DIRECTLY W OUT OF THE AIRSPACE. BOS APPEARED TO BE LNDG RWY 22 AND HANSOM HAD NO TFC. THE MAJOR CONTRIBUTING FACTOR IN THIS INCIDENT WAS MY LACK OF NIGHT VFR XCOUNTRY CURRENCY. I HAVE BEEN FLYING PRIMARILY IFR FOR THE 6 MONTHS PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT, ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT. A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR WAS MY RELIANCE ON MY INSTS AND AVIONICS OVER PLT SKILLS THAT WERE SOMEWHAT RUSTY. I DID NOT ACT QUICKLY ENOUGH TO DETERMINE MY LOCATION UNTIL IT HAD THE POTENTIAL TO BE A PROB. THE AREA AROUND BOS IS EXTREMELY SUBURBAN WHEREAS W OF RTE 495 IS RURAL. I SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DETERMINE MUCH EARLIER THAT WHAT I THOUGHT WAS LOWER MASS WAS ACTUALLY BOS. MY INTENT IS TO REFAMILIARIZE MYSELF WITH THE AREA AT NIGHT WITH AN INSTRUCTOR SO THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN.

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.