Narrative:

Overflying the lax class B at 13500 ft, I noticed a fighter jet fly by. Shortly after he got close enough that I figured I was being intercepted, I flew through his wake. I was in a slight descent and flying fast (true airspeed=170 KTS), so it was quite a jolt. (My head banged into the cockpit ceiling.) after recovering from that, I called a few times on 121.5, but didn't get a response right away. Eventually a controller in san diego responded who told me about the no-fly zone and gave me the proper center frequency for my location (near long beach by then). Shortly before my departure I printed out a full duats briefing and flight plan (35 pages) for the direct route to myf. 11 of those pages were NOTAMS. I later found the los angeles tfr on the sixth NOTAM page, (the fifth fdc NOTAM) but I missed seeing it during my preflight reading. I had used duats before, but this was the first time I had used it exclusively without also talking to a flight service briefer. I was beginning to think that was a waste of the briefer's time, but now I don't think so. I suspect the briefer would have mentioned the tfr after hearing my planned route. If I had known about the tfr, the incursion would have been easy to avoid. Going around it would have added only a few mins to my flight. Or I could have filed IFR and flown above the tfr. There are a few things I think duats could do better which might help prevent similar incursions. First, government tfr's, because of their high profile should be listed first before all other NOTAMS. (If it was even listed first among the fdc NOTAMS, I think I would have noticed it.) the regular NOTAMS are listed cleanly in upper and lower case with their headings in bold face type so it is easy to scan them to pick out any relevant items. However, the fdc NOTAMS are shown in all capital letters with no headings causing ones eyes to glaze over after a while. How hard could it be to make the heading for a government tfr appear in bold type? Clearly this is the most important type of NOTAM. Certainly this would be easier than scrambling a jet after the offending pilot. Now if duats was as smart as an FSS briefer, it might even have noticed that my proposed route and altitude went smack through the middle of an active government tfr. If so it could display this fact right before or after the flight plan printout. While this would be impractical to do for all NOTAMS, I think it would be justified for popup tfrs. Certainly I was responsible for looking through all the NOTAMS to determine which ones were relevant, but with such a large number of NOTAMS, the chance of human error grows. Finally, when I called on 121.5, I think the military jet should have been able to respond. Perhaps they don't carry a civilian communications radio, but if so, a few hundred dollar handheld radio would solve that problem. At first I thought the fighter was trying to get me to turn around. Fortunately I did not do that since that would have sent me directly back over the tfr's location making the situation even worse. Soon the fighter disappeared as quickly as it came -- perhaps because I was already nearing the outer perimeter of the tfr.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C185 PLT INADVERTENTLY ENTERS A TFR NEAR LGB AND IS INTERCEPTED BY A MIL JET.

Narrative: OVERFLYING THE LAX CLASS B AT 13500 FT, I NOTICED A FIGHTER JET FLY BY. SHORTLY AFTER HE GOT CLOSE ENOUGH THAT I FIGURED I WAS BEING INTERCEPTED, I FLEW THROUGH HIS WAKE. I WAS IN A SLIGHT DSCNT AND FLYING FAST (TRUE AIRSPD=170 KTS), SO IT WAS QUITE A JOLT. (MY HEAD BANGED INTO THE COCKPIT CEILING.) AFTER RECOVERING FROM THAT, I CALLED A FEW TIMES ON 121.5, BUT DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE RIGHT AWAY. EVENTUALLY A CTLR IN SAN DIEGO RESPONDED WHO TOLD ME ABOUT THE NO-FLY ZONE AND GAVE ME THE PROPER CTR FREQ FOR MY LOCATION (NEAR LONG BEACH BY THEN). SHORTLY BEFORE MY DEP I PRINTED OUT A FULL DUATS BRIEFING AND FLT PLAN (35 PAGES) FOR THE DIRECT RTE TO MYF. 11 OF THOSE PAGES WERE NOTAMS. I LATER FOUND THE LOS ANGELES TFR ON THE SIXTH NOTAM PAGE, (THE FIFTH FDC NOTAM) BUT I MISSED SEEING IT DURING MY PREFLT READING. I HAD USED DUATS BEFORE, BUT THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME I HAD USED IT EXCLUSIVELY WITHOUT ALSO TALKING TO A FLT SVC BRIEFER. I WAS BEGINNING TO THINK THAT WAS A WASTE OF THE BRIEFER'S TIME, BUT NOW I DON'T THINK SO. I SUSPECT THE BRIEFER WOULD HAVE MENTIONED THE TFR AFTER HEARING MY PLANNED RTE. IF I HAD KNOWN ABOUT THE TFR, THE INCURSION WOULD HAVE BEEN EASY TO AVOID. GOING AROUND IT WOULD HAVE ADDED ONLY A FEW MINS TO MY FLT. OR I COULD HAVE FILED IFR AND FLOWN ABOVE THE TFR. THERE ARE A FEW THINGS I THINK DUATS COULD DO BETTER WHICH MIGHT HELP PREVENT SIMILAR INCURSIONS. FIRST, GOV TFR'S, BECAUSE OF THEIR HIGH PROFILE SHOULD BE LISTED FIRST BEFORE ALL OTHER NOTAMS. (IF IT WAS EVEN LISTED FIRST AMONG THE FDC NOTAMS, I THINK I WOULD HAVE NOTICED IT.) THE REGULAR NOTAMS ARE LISTED CLEANLY IN UPPER AND LOWER CASE WITH THEIR HDGS IN BOLD FACE TYPE SO IT IS EASY TO SCAN THEM TO PICK OUT ANY RELEVANT ITEMS. HOWEVER, THE FDC NOTAMS ARE SHOWN IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS WITH NO HDGS CAUSING ONES EYES TO GLAZE OVER AFTER A WHILE. HOW HARD COULD IT BE TO MAKE THE HDG FOR A GOV TFR APPEAR IN BOLD TYPE? CLEARLY THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TYPE OF NOTAM. CERTAINLY THIS WOULD BE EASIER THAN SCRAMBLING A JET AFTER THE OFFENDING PLT. NOW IF DUATS WAS AS SMART AS AN FSS BRIEFER, IT MIGHT EVEN HAVE NOTICED THAT MY PROPOSED RTE AND ALT WENT SMACK THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF AN ACTIVE GOV TFR. IF SO IT COULD DISPLAY THIS FACT RIGHT BEFORE OR AFTER THE FLT PLAN PRINTOUT. WHILE THIS WOULD BE IMPRACTICAL TO DO FOR ALL NOTAMS, I THINK IT WOULD BE JUSTIFIED FOR POPUP TFRS. CERTAINLY I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR LOOKING THROUGH ALL THE NOTAMS TO DETERMINE WHICH ONES WERE RELEVANT, BUT WITH SUCH A LARGE NUMBER OF NOTAMS, THE CHANCE OF HUMAN ERROR GROWS. FINALLY, WHEN I CALLED ON 121.5, I THINK THE MIL JET SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO RESPOND. PERHAPS THEY DON'T CARRY A CIVILIAN COMS RADIO, BUT IF SO, A FEW HUNDRED DOLLAR HANDHELD RADIO WOULD SOLVE THAT PROB. AT FIRST I THOUGHT THE FIGHTER WAS TRYING TO GET ME TO TURN AROUND. FORTUNATELY I DID NOT DO THAT SINCE THAT WOULD HAVE SENT ME DIRECTLY BACK OVER THE TFR'S LOCATION MAKING THE SIT EVEN WORSE. SOON THE FIGHTER DISAPPEARED AS QUICKLY AS IT CAME -- PERHAPS BECAUSE I WAS ALREADY NEARING THE OUTER PERIMETER OF THE TFR.

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.