" wrote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGHOqX4sHkI
I kinda got RIGHTFULLY chewed out by ATC today while doing the VOR
Alpha approach. I mistook an instruction by the controller as a
clearance.

Yea, you mess up, but the controller's terminology is partly to blame. They should have said "practice
approach approved, maintain VFR" rather than "cleared VOR-A". Using the clearance language makes it
sound like you were really IFR, which is not the case. It's also interesting that there were two controller
voices, so maybe they had a trainee at the position, leading to the non-standard terminology.

Human error obviously, and this is the first time this has happened to
me. Other then the simple not hearing correctly, was this really
preventable? I should have known by the lack of approach intercept
instructions that it wasn't a clearance but as you can see from the
communications, that escaped me since I was busy flying an airplane.

Yes, they said maintain 340, vectors for the approach, but they didn't say cleared, or practice approach
approved, so you shouldn't have turned inbound. Did you have a safety pilot on board, or were you just
doing this on your own? As a safety pilot, I would have spoken up if I caught the error.

One question in my mind is on the second approach vectors to final, I
was never issued missed. Should I have been issued missed
instructions or does the canceled approach missed instructions still
stand?

I'm not sure, but I think in a practice approach environment, you're not necessarily approved for the
published missed. I think you have to just go with their instructions in that case.

(All in all, a fairly mild chewing out. He didn't even give you a phone number to call, and just asked what
you wanted to do next. Everybody is so laid back in your neck of the woods. Must be that southern
hospitality!)

Mike