Narrative:

I am a student pilot. I flew to the practice area for maneuvers, and then I headed back to the airport with the intention of practicing touch-and-go lndgs. I radioed the airport on control tower frequency 126.00. I had just finished my descent to pattern altitude on the left downwind for runway 27, when I suddenly encountered strong turbulence. My head slammed up against the ceiling, which knocked my headset partly off. This occurred even though I had my shoulder harness and lap belt fastened low and tight. I recovered quickly and restored the plane to straight and level flight. The turbulence subsided. At that point, I noticed an emergency alarm sounding in my ears. I immediately thought that my airplane's ELT must have been activated by the turbulence. Although the alarm was loud and interfering, I was able to maintain radio communications with tower. I received landing instructions. Tower communications were busy, and I decided I should not take time to make any comment concerning the ELT. After touchdown, I exited runway 27 at the very first intersection. I stopped the airplane and completed my after landing checklist. The ELT alarm was sounding much louder in my ears after I got on the ground, and I could not seem to hear any radio communications. I decided to switch to ground control frequency 121.70 hoping that I could get taxi instructions. The ELT alarm was even louder in my ears. I made 2 xmissions attempting to get taxi instructions. I couldn't hear any coherent responses to my communications other than low static rumbling and an occasional broken word or two in the backgnd. I decided that the situation was unsafe, and that I should take some action to clear the area safely. I began to taxi when I heard some static rumbling and broken words under the ELT alarm sound. I stopped the aircraft and transmitted again on 121.70, saying I was unable to copy any voice transmission. I realize now that I should not have taxied without clearly understood instructions. I assumed that anyone else was hearing the same loud alarm I was hearing, and that they understood my airplane was the source. I looked up at the tower windows for a few moments, and decided once again that this was an emergency, that I should clear the area safely as I could. Even though I had been trained to look for light signals in the event of radio communications failure, I mistakenly failed to equate this situation with a 'radio out' situation. I didn't see any light signals, but I have to confess that I also forgot to look for them. I was concerned that my presence on the airport with an active ELT constituted a danger to others. The main thought in my mind was that I should taxi back to the FBO so someone could deactivate the transmitter. I taxied to the hold short line at runway 1/19 while I looked for traffic. I saw no traffic, so I taxied across runway 1/19 and continued towards runway 14/32. At that point, an airport safety vehicle suddenly appeared on my left wingtip with lights flashing. I also heard the first clear radio transmission since I had landed, with a voice saying clearly above the sound of the ELT alarm 'stop the airplane!' the safety vehicle pulled in front of me, waving with a gesture that said 'follow me.' I followed the vehicle across runway 14/32. At point, the vehicle gestured for me to continue to the FBO. I parked the airplane, and I was immediately joined by a mechanic, as well as the airport safety officer. The mechanic verified the ELT had been activated. The safety officer asked me to describe what had happened. He then asked me to give tower a phone call. My flight instructor said he could see the ELT lying on the floor. Back in the FBO, my flight instructor called tower and talked with the controller. My flight instructor then said I had committed a runway incursion and gave me the phone. I was very surprised to be told that I had committed this violation. The controller gave me a stern lecture. He told me that I should have tuned my radio back to tower frequency 126.00, where I might have been successful in getting taxi instructions, or I should have waited for light signals, or for a safety vehicle to come to my location on the taxiway. I spent more time talking with my flight instructor about whati should have done to deal with the situation safely and properly. I should have realized that this situation called for me to follow the standard 'radio out' procedures I had been taught for communicating via light signals. I now understand that a small airplane parked on a wide taxiway does not constitute nearly so great a danger as the same small airplane if it taxies without proper communications and clearance.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA28 STUDENT PLT ENCOUNTERS TURB IN TFC PATTERN ACTIVATING ONBOARD ELT. AFTER LNDG, WITH THE INTERFERING ELT ALARM, PLT CROSSES RWY WITHOUT CLRNC. ARPT VEHICLE INTERVENES, GUIDING ACFT TO FBO WHERE INCIDENT IS REVIEWED WITH SAFETY OFFICER AND INSTRUCTOR.

Narrative: I AM A STUDENT PLT. I FLEW TO THE PRACTICE AREA FOR MANEUVERS, AND THEN I HEADED BACK TO THE ARPT WITH THE INTENTION OF PRACTICING TOUCH-AND-GO LNDGS. I RADIOED THE ARPT ON CTL TWR FREQ 126.00. I HAD JUST FINISHED MY DSCNT TO PATTERN ALT ON THE L DOWNWIND FOR RWY 27, WHEN I SUDDENLY ENCOUNTERED STRONG TURB. MY HEAD SLAMMED UP AGAINST THE CEILING, WHICH KNOCKED MY HEADSET PARTLY OFF. THIS OCCURRED EVEN THOUGH I HAD MY SHOULDER HARNESS AND LAP BELT FASTENED LOW AND TIGHT. I RECOVERED QUICKLY AND RESTORED THE PLANE TO STRAIGHT AND LEVEL FLT. THE TURB SUBSIDED. AT THAT POINT, I NOTICED AN EMER ALARM SOUNDING IN MY EARS. I IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT THAT MY AIRPLANE'S ELT MUST HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED BY THE TURB. ALTHOUGH THE ALARM WAS LOUD AND INTERFERING, I WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN RADIO COMS WITH TWR. I RECEIVED LNDG INSTRUCTIONS. TWR COMS WERE BUSY, AND I DECIDED I SHOULD NOT TAKE TIME TO MAKE ANY COMMENT CONCERNING THE ELT. AFTER TOUCHDOWN, I EXITED RWY 27 AT THE VERY FIRST INTXN. I STOPPED THE AIRPLANE AND COMPLETED MY AFTER LNDG CHKLIST. THE ELT ALARM WAS SOUNDING MUCH LOUDER IN MY EARS AFTER I GOT ON THE GND, AND I COULD NOT SEEM TO HEAR ANY RADIO COMS. I DECIDED TO SWITCH TO GND CTL FREQ 121.70 HOPING THAT I COULD GET TAXI INSTRUCTIONS. THE ELT ALARM WAS EVEN LOUDER IN MY EARS. I MADE 2 XMISSIONS ATTEMPTING TO GET TAXI INSTRUCTIONS. I COULDN'T HEAR ANY COHERENT RESPONSES TO MY COMS OTHER THAN LOW STATIC RUMBLING AND AN OCCASIONAL BROKEN WORD OR TWO IN THE BACKGND. I DECIDED THAT THE SIT WAS UNSAFE, AND THAT I SHOULD TAKE SOME ACTION TO CLR THE AREA SAFELY. I BEGAN TO TAXI WHEN I HEARD SOME STATIC RUMBLING AND BROKEN WORDS UNDER THE ELT ALARM SOUND. I STOPPED THE ACFT AND XMITTED AGAIN ON 121.70, SAYING I WAS UNABLE TO COPY ANY VOICE XMISSION. I REALIZE NOW THAT I SHOULD NOT HAVE TAXIED WITHOUT CLRLY UNDERSTOOD INSTRUCTIONS. I ASSUMED THAT ANYONE ELSE WAS HEARING THE SAME LOUD ALARM I WAS HEARING, AND THAT THEY UNDERSTOOD MY AIRPLANE WAS THE SOURCE. I LOOKED UP AT THE TWR WINDOWS FOR A FEW MOMENTS, AND DECIDED ONCE AGAIN THAT THIS WAS AN EMER, THAT I SHOULD CLR THE AREA SAFELY AS I COULD. EVEN THOUGH I HAD BEEN TRAINED TO LOOK FOR LIGHT SIGNALS IN THE EVENT OF RADIO COMS FAILURE, I MISTAKENLY FAILED TO EQUATE THIS SIT WITH A 'RADIO OUT' SIT. I DIDN'T SEE ANY LIGHT SIGNALS, BUT I HAVE TO CONFESS THAT I ALSO FORGOT TO LOOK FOR THEM. I WAS CONCERNED THAT MY PRESENCE ON THE ARPT WITH AN ACTIVE ELT CONSTITUTED A DANGER TO OTHERS. THE MAIN THOUGHT IN MY MIND WAS THAT I SHOULD TAXI BACK TO THE FBO SO SOMEONE COULD DEACTIVATE THE XMITTER. I TAXIED TO THE HOLD SHORT LINE AT RWY 1/19 WHILE I LOOKED FOR TFC. I SAW NO TFC, SO I TAXIED ACROSS RWY 1/19 AND CONTINUED TOWARDS RWY 14/32. AT THAT POINT, AN ARPT SAFETY VEHICLE SUDDENLY APPEARED ON MY L WINGTIP WITH LIGHTS FLASHING. I ALSO HEARD THE FIRST CLR RADIO XMISSION SINCE I HAD LANDED, WITH A VOICE SAYING CLRLY ABOVE THE SOUND OF THE ELT ALARM 'STOP THE AIRPLANE!' THE SAFETY VEHICLE PULLED IN FRONT OF ME, WAVING WITH A GESTURE THAT SAID 'FOLLOW ME.' I FOLLOWED THE VEHICLE ACROSS RWY 14/32. AT POINT, THE VEHICLE GESTURED FOR ME TO CONTINUE TO THE FBO. I PARKED THE AIRPLANE, AND I WAS IMMEDIATELY JOINED BY A MECH, AS WELL AS THE ARPT SAFETY OFFICER. THE MECH VERIFIED THE ELT HAD BEEN ACTIVATED. THE SAFETY OFFICER ASKED ME TO DESCRIBE WHAT HAD HAPPENED. HE THEN ASKED ME TO GIVE TWR A PHONE CALL. MY FLT INSTRUCTOR SAID HE COULD SEE THE ELT LYING ON THE FLOOR. BACK IN THE FBO, MY FLT INSTRUCTOR CALLED TWR AND TALKED WITH THE CTLR. MY FLT INSTRUCTOR THEN SAID I HAD COMMITTED A RWY INCURSION AND GAVE ME THE PHONE. I WAS VERY SURPRISED TO BE TOLD THAT I HAD COMMITTED THIS VIOLATION. THE CTLR GAVE ME A STERN LECTURE. HE TOLD ME THAT I SHOULD HAVE TUNED MY RADIO BACK TO TWR FREQ 126.00, WHERE I MIGHT HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN GETTING TAXI INSTRUCTIONS, OR I SHOULD HAVE WAITED FOR LIGHT SIGNALS, OR FOR A SAFETY VEHICLE TO COME TO MY LOCATION ON THE TXWY. I SPENT MORE TIME TALKING WITH MY FLT INSTRUCTOR ABOUT WHATI SHOULD HAVE DONE TO DEAL WITH THE SIT SAFELY AND PROPERLY. I SHOULD HAVE REALIZED THAT THIS SIT CALLED FOR ME TO FOLLOW THE STANDARD 'RADIO OUT' PROCS I HAD BEEN TAUGHT FOR COMMUNICATING VIA LIGHT SIGNALS. I NOW UNDERSTAND THAT A SMALL AIRPLANE PARKED ON A WIDE TXWY DOES NOT CONSTITUTE NEARLY SO GREAT A DANGER AS THE SAME SMALL AIRPLANE IF IT TAXIES WITHOUT PROPER COMS AND CLRNC.

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.