Narrative:

On the second leg of a multi-leg cross country flight, I found myself in a situation where I was not completely sure of my location. I departed from emt en route to udd on a really hazy day in the los angeles basin with an SVFR clearance. The visibility was 2 1/2 mi with haze under otherwise clear skies. At 1600 ft MSL I reached VFR conditions. Once I got out of the la basin the visibilities improved to better than 10 mi. The trip to udd was otherwise uneventful. The next leg took me north to apv. I was intending to find my way using VOR navigation, but somewhere during this time one of my navigation/communication radios began acting up, and I couldn't reliably tune in the station I was intending to use to xchk my position. I had planned my trip using a wide area chart instead of a sectional, and this became the main problem, because while I have easily naved via pilotage using a sectional chart, I found the detail on the WAC was too small to help in my airport search. I contacted joshua approach for an on-course heading to apv, but I mistakenly idented the airport and approach asked me to switch to the CTAF frequency. I realized that I could not see the airport and decided to abort my landing at apv and continue on to wjf. At this point I should have reestablished contact with joshua approach just to have an extra set of eyes helping me watch for traffic, but truthfully I was embarrassed about admitting I couldn't find the airport and opted to continue on my own. I allowed myself to get distraction by my own embarrassment and while I had my head in my WAC chart ensuring I knew where I was going, I looked up and found myself rapidly approaching pmd. I was currently flying at 4500 ft MSL, and their class D airspace extends up to 5000 ft MSL. I immediately executed a climbing 180 degree turn to the right, and I'm really unsure if I penetrated their airspace or not. Once I was 6500 ft, I turned again and scanned for wjf. I've been there several times, but today with my rising personal frustration level, I was completely unable to locate the airport. Realizing my performance in flying the airplane was being seriously compromised by mental distrs, I decided to return to the san fernando valley, where I had done all my private training and land either at whp or bur and cool off a bit before returning to emt. I was becoming more and more disoriented, however, and while I knew visually how to get to whp from wjf, because I couldn't locate wjf I wasn't really sure if I was going the right direction. I knew I needed to head roughly ssw, so I tuned in the VOR at palmdale with my one good radio and tracked outbound on the 200 degree radial. Below me I saw a major interstate, and in the distance the haze layer of the la basin, and then I incorrectly assumed it was interstate 5 (it was actually interstate 15). Again, the WAC was of absolutely no help because while it shows major roads, it doesn't identify them. I knew visually how to follow I-5 home, so I tracked the freeway until it crossed into a major mountain pass, at which point it turned to the west. Now I knew it wasn't I-5, and worse, I knew I was completely lost. I rechked my fuel calculations, and while I wasn't in imminent danger of running out of fuel, I became quite concerned about how I was going to get home. I tried to contact joshua approach on the last frequency I had, but I was out of range. During the previous leg I had a frequency for ZLA, so I tried that and communicated to the controller I was lost. Thinking I was over I-5, I estimated my position in the gorman pass, but of course, he couldn't locate me there. At this point I left the mountain pass and into the la basin, and while I was flying in VMC, the haze layer below made it difficult to ascertain surface details. I could see an airport in the distance to my left, and as I was trying to identify it, I noticed directly below was another airport, and I could clearly read 'rialto' on the runway. I was much further to the east than I had imagined, and so I opted to return directly to emt as it was now the closest airport I wanted to land at. So now I knew where I was, but the ZLA controller was still trying to find me. He asked me to squawk 7700 so I would be easier to find, but I told him I wasn't lost anymore. Again, he asked me to transmit 7700 so I complied. Having located me on his screen, he gave me the frequency to socal approach and asked me to contact them and tell them I was squawking 7700. I switched frequencys and socal informed me I was transmitting 7700, did I have an emergency? I explained the situation and was given a new transponder code. The haze layer was still quite dense, but visibilities had improved to marginal VFR conditions, and the return trip to el monte, while with reduced visibilities, was uneventful. I was really surprised how poorly I managed the navigation aspect with the mental distrs, and how quickly a little embarrassment turned into a major stumbling block in my situational awareness. Also, I underestimated how the reduced detail on the WAC would make it difficult to ascertain my position after one of my navigation/communication's became unreliable. I can't explain why I was unable to locate either apv or wjf, except that my rising anxiety level got in the way of thinking clearly. I have made many trips on my own to new airports, and it was a personal disappointment that I couldn't locate apv, much less wjf where I had been before. The situation was exacerbated by the fear of blundering into someone else's airspace without a clearance. I certainly did not panic, but I was definitely not at my top mental functioning. I will ensure on future flts that I have a sectional chart aboard, and plan to take further navigation training with my instructor. Most importantly, I will remind myself to keep it together mentally and try not to have curves the flight throws at me distraction me from my most important tasks: flying the plane safely and maintaining situational awareness. Finally, I realize that I should have admitted my mistake to joshua approach. Maintaining communication with the controllers allows them to do their job, assist pilots in having a safe trip, and I know they will do everything they can if one simply asks.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA28 PVT PLT GETS LOST AFTER LOSING ONE VOR NAV RADIO NEAR UDD. JOSHUA APCH ATTEMPT A VECTOR TO APV, BUT PLT MISIDENTS ARPT AND GETS LOST IN A SUBSEQUENT ATTEMPT TO GET BACK TO HOME ARPT AT EMT.

Narrative: ON THE SECOND LEG OF A MULTI-LEG XCOUNTRY FLT, I FOUND MYSELF IN A SIT WHERE I WAS NOT COMPLETELY SURE OF MY LOCATION. I DEPARTED FROM EMT ENRTE TO UDD ON A REALLY HAZY DAY IN THE LOS ANGELES BASIN WITH AN SVFR CLRNC. THE VISIBILITY WAS 2 1/2 MI WITH HAZE UNDER OTHERWISE CLR SKIES. AT 1600 FT MSL I REACHED VFR CONDITIONS. ONCE I GOT OUT OF THE LA BASIN THE VISIBILITIES IMPROVED TO BETTER THAN 10 MI. THE TRIP TO UDD WAS OTHERWISE UNEVENTFUL. THE NEXT LEG TOOK ME N TO APV. I WAS INTENDING TO FIND MY WAY USING VOR NAV, BUT SOMEWHERE DURING THIS TIME ONE OF MY NAV/COM RADIOS BEGAN ACTING UP, AND I COULDN'T RELIABLY TUNE IN THE STATION I WAS INTENDING TO USE TO XCHK MY POS. I HAD PLANNED MY TRIP USING A WIDE AREA CHART INSTEAD OF A SECTIONAL, AND THIS BECAME THE MAIN PROB, BECAUSE WHILE I HAVE EASILY NAVED VIA PILOTAGE USING A SECTIONAL CHART, I FOUND THE DETAIL ON THE WAC WAS TOO SMALL TO HELP IN MY ARPT SEARCH. I CONTACTED JOSHUA APCH FOR AN ON-COURSE HDG TO APV, BUT I MISTAKENLY IDENTED THE ARPT AND APCH ASKED ME TO SWITCH TO THE CTAF FREQ. I REALIZED THAT I COULD NOT SEE THE ARPT AND DECIDED TO ABORT MY LNDG AT APV AND CONTINUE ON TO WJF. AT THIS POINT I SHOULD HAVE REESTABLISHED CONTACT WITH JOSHUA APCH JUST TO HAVE AN EXTRA SET OF EYES HELPING ME WATCH FOR TFC, BUT TRUTHFULLY I WAS EMBARRASSED ABOUT ADMITTING I COULDN'T FIND THE ARPT AND OPTED TO CONTINUE ON MY OWN. I ALLOWED MYSELF TO GET DISTR BY MY OWN EMBARRASSMENT AND WHILE I HAD MY HEAD IN MY WAC CHART ENSURING I KNEW WHERE I WAS GOING, I LOOKED UP AND FOUND MYSELF RAPIDLY APCHING PMD. I WAS CURRENTLY FLYING AT 4500 FT MSL, AND THEIR CLASS D AIRSPACE EXTENDS UP TO 5000 FT MSL. I IMMEDIATELY EXECUTED A CLBING 180 DEG TURN TO THE R, AND I'M REALLY UNSURE IF I PENETRATED THEIR AIRSPACE OR NOT. ONCE I WAS 6500 FT, I TURNED AGAIN AND SCANNED FOR WJF. I'VE BEEN THERE SEVERAL TIMES, BUT TODAY WITH MY RISING PERSONAL FRUSTRATION LEVEL, I WAS COMPLETELY UNABLE TO LOCATE THE ARPT. REALIZING MY PERFORMANCE IN FLYING THE AIRPLANE WAS BEING SERIOUSLY COMPROMISED BY MENTAL DISTRS, I DECIDED TO RETURN TO THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, WHERE I HAD DONE ALL MY PVT TRAINING AND LAND EITHER AT WHP OR BUR AND COOL OFF A BIT BEFORE RETURNING TO EMT. I WAS BECOMING MORE AND MORE DISORIENTED, HOWEVER, AND WHILE I KNEW VISUALLY HOW TO GET TO WHP FROM WJF, BECAUSE I COULDN'T LOCATE WJF I WASN'T REALLY SURE IF I WAS GOING THE RIGHT DIRECTION. I KNEW I NEEDED TO HEAD ROUGHLY SSW, SO I TUNED IN THE VOR AT PALMDALE WITH MY ONE GOOD RADIO AND TRACKED OUTBOUND ON THE 200 DEG RADIAL. BELOW ME I SAW A MAJOR INTERSTATE, AND IN THE DISTANCE THE HAZE LAYER OF THE LA BASIN, AND THEN I INCORRECTLY ASSUMED IT WAS INTERSTATE 5 (IT WAS ACTUALLY INTERSTATE 15). AGAIN, THE WAC WAS OF ABSOLUTELY NO HELP BECAUSE WHILE IT SHOWS MAJOR ROADS, IT DOESN'T IDENT THEM. I KNEW VISUALLY HOW TO FOLLOW I-5 HOME, SO I TRACKED THE FREEWAY UNTIL IT CROSSED INTO A MAJOR MOUNTAIN PASS, AT WHICH POINT IT TURNED TO THE W. NOW I KNEW IT WASN'T I-5, AND WORSE, I KNEW I WAS COMPLETELY LOST. I RECHKED MY FUEL CALCULATIONS, AND WHILE I WASN'T IN IMMINENT DANGER OF RUNNING OUT OF FUEL, I BECAME QUITE CONCERNED ABOUT HOW I WAS GOING TO GET HOME. I TRIED TO CONTACT JOSHUA APCH ON THE LAST FREQ I HAD, BUT I WAS OUT OF RANGE. DURING THE PREVIOUS LEG I HAD A FREQ FOR ZLA, SO I TRIED THAT AND COMMUNICATED TO THE CTLR I WAS LOST. THINKING I WAS OVER I-5, I ESTIMATED MY POS IN THE GORMAN PASS, BUT OF COURSE, HE COULDN'T LOCATE ME THERE. AT THIS POINT I LEFT THE MOUNTAIN PASS AND INTO THE LA BASIN, AND WHILE I WAS FLYING IN VMC, THE HAZE LAYER BELOW MADE IT DIFFICULT TO ASCERTAIN SURFACE DETAILS. I COULD SEE AN ARPT IN THE DISTANCE TO MY L, AND AS I WAS TRYING TO IDENT IT, I NOTICED DIRECTLY BELOW WAS ANOTHER ARPT, AND I COULD CLRLY READ 'RIALTO' ON THE RWY. I WAS MUCH FURTHER TO THE E THAN I HAD IMAGINED, AND SO I OPTED TO RETURN DIRECTLY TO EMT AS IT WAS NOW THE CLOSEST ARPT I WANTED TO LAND AT. SO NOW I KNEW WHERE I WAS, BUT THE ZLA CTLR WAS STILL TRYING TO FIND ME. HE ASKED ME TO SQUAWK 7700 SO I WOULD BE EASIER TO FIND, BUT I TOLD HIM I WASN'T LOST ANYMORE. AGAIN, HE ASKED ME TO XMIT 7700 SO I COMPLIED. HAVING LOCATED ME ON HIS SCREEN, HE GAVE ME THE FREQ TO SOCAL APCH AND ASKED ME TO CONTACT THEM AND TELL THEM I WAS SQUAWKING 7700. I SWITCHED FREQS AND SOCAL INFORMED ME I WAS XMITTING 7700, DID I HAVE AN EMER? I EXPLAINED THE SIT AND WAS GIVEN A NEW XPONDER CODE. THE HAZE LAYER WAS STILL QUITE DENSE, BUT VISIBILITIES HAD IMPROVED TO MARGINAL VFR CONDITIONS, AND THE RETURN TRIP TO EL MONTE, WHILE WITH REDUCED VISIBILITIES, WAS UNEVENTFUL. I WAS REALLY SURPRISED HOW POORLY I MANAGED THE NAV ASPECT WITH THE MENTAL DISTRS, AND HOW QUICKLY A LITTLE EMBARRASSMENT TURNED INTO A MAJOR STUMBLING BLOCK IN MY SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. ALSO, I UNDERESTIMATED HOW THE REDUCED DETAIL ON THE WAC WOULD MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO ASCERTAIN MY POS AFTER ONE OF MY NAV/COM'S BECAME UNRELIABLE. I CAN'T EXPLAIN WHY I WAS UNABLE TO LOCATE EITHER APV OR WJF, EXCEPT THAT MY RISING ANXIETY LEVEL GOT IN THE WAY OF THINKING CLRLY. I HAVE MADE MANY TRIPS ON MY OWN TO NEW ARPTS, AND IT WAS A PERSONAL DISAPPOINTMENT THAT I COULDN'T LOCATE APV, MUCH LESS WJF WHERE I HAD BEEN BEFORE. THE SIT WAS EXACERBATED BY THE FEAR OF BLUNDERING INTO SOMEONE ELSE'S AIRSPACE WITHOUT A CLRNC. I CERTAINLY DID NOT PANIC, BUT I WAS DEFINITELY NOT AT MY TOP MENTAL FUNCTIONING. I WILL ENSURE ON FUTURE FLTS THAT I HAVE A SECTIONAL CHART ABOARD, AND PLAN TO TAKE FURTHER NAV TRAINING WITH MY INSTRUCTOR. MOST IMPORTANTLY, I WILL REMIND MYSELF TO KEEP IT TOGETHER MENTALLY AND TRY NOT TO HAVE CURVES THE FLT THROWS AT ME DISTR ME FROM MY MOST IMPORTANT TASKS: FLYING THE PLANE SAFELY AND MAINTAINING SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. FINALLY, I REALIZE THAT I SHOULD HAVE ADMITTED MY MISTAKE TO JOSHUA APCH. MAINTAINING COM WITH THE CTLRS ALLOWS THEM TO DO THEIR JOB, ASSIST PLTS IN HAVING A SAFE TRIP, AND I KNOW THEY WILL DO EVERYTHING THEY CAN IF ONE SIMPLY ASKS.

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.