Forgot to close flight plan

Ok, I did it today, first time ever, after ferrying my newly purchased
152 home. I realized about an hour after landing that I'd forgotten. I
called the FSS and they'd informed me that they'd called the tower who
had confirmed my landing and thus the plan had been closed. I felt like
a complete ass.

How big a deal is this? I'm afraid to ask anybody at my FBO. I'm not
gonna get a letter am I??

It's no big deal at all. Obviously you shouldn't do it but
nothing bad will happen, and you'll remember next time.
Maybe the time after that too, but eventually you'll forget
again.

Only time I ever did it (I rarely use VFR flight plans)
was at Furnace Creek. When I remembered, they'd sent
the local representative of the law to the airport.

John

"Paul Folbrecht" wrote in message
...
Ok, I did it today, first time ever, after ferrying my newly purchased
152 home. I realized about an hour after landing that I'd forgotten. I
called the FSS and they'd informed me that they'd called the tower who
had confirmed my landing and thus the plan had been closed. I felt like
a complete ass.

How big a deal is this? I'm afraid to ask anybody at my FBO. I'm not
gonna get a letter am I??

In a previous article, Paul Folbrecht said:
How big a deal is this? I'm afraid to ask anybody at my FBO. I'm not
gonna get a letter am I??

Not a big deal. I've done it twice and never heard another word about it.


--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Progress (n.): The process through which Usenet has evolved from
smart people in front of dumb terminals to dumb people in front
of smart terminals. --

"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...
In a previous article, Paul Folbrecht
said:
How big a deal is this? I'm afraid to ask anybody at my FBO. I'm not
gonna get a letter am I??

Not a big deal. I've done it twice and never heard another word about it.


Depends. I forgot to do it once at a remote airport without tower. I
realised about an hour later and called in to close the FP and they told me
they were trying to find me and had asked other pilots about my aircraft.
Fortunately a full scale search had not developed. Glad I called in and
checked with the FSS. Felt like an ass. So, it could be an inconvenience to
ATC and other pilots, so don't take this lightly.

In a previous article, "S Narayan" said:
Depends. I forgot to do it once at a remote airport without tower. I
realised about an hour later and called in to close the FP and they told me

One time I was flying to Saranac Lake, and I decided at the last minute
(after losing flight following) to do a bit of a scenic flyby of the Lake
Placid area before landing. I didn't think I was an hour past my ETA, but
I must have been because I heard a call on Saranac Lake's CTAF asking if I
was on the frequency, and when I said I was, the caller said that FSS had
called the FBO to see if I was there because I hadn't closed my flight
plan.


--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Your mouse has moved. Windows NT must be restarted for the change to
take effect. Reboot now? [ OK ]

I didn't think I was an hour past my ETA, but I must have been
because I heard a call on Saranac Lake's CTAF asking if I
was on the frequency,...

You may not have been. Twenty or thirty years ago I landed at
Hastings, NB, at my ETA. But when I strolled into the FSS to close my
flight plan, I was surprised to hear a guy sitting there calling my
number into his mike.

I was glad to see him taking his job seriously. ((:-))

vince norris

"S Narayan" wrote in message
...

Depends. I forgot to do it once at a remote airport without tower. I
realised about an hour later and called in to close the FP and they told
me
they were trying to find me and had asked other pilots about my aircraft.
Fortunately a full scale search had not developed. Glad I called in and
checked with the FSS. Felt like an ass. So, it could be an inconvenience
to ATC and other pilots, so don't take this lightly.


He's talking about a VFR flight plan. There's no connection between control
towers and VFR flight plans, ATC wouldn't even know if you had filed a VFR
flight plan or not.

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message
link.net...

"S Narayan" wrote in message
...

Depends. I forgot to do it once at a remote airport without tower. I
realised about an hour later and called in to close the FP and they told
me
they were trying to find me and had asked other pilots about my
aircraft.
Fortunately a full scale search had not developed. Glad I called in and
checked with the FSS. Felt like an ass. So, it could be an inconvenience
to ATC and other pilots, so don't take this lightly.


He's talking about a VFR flight plan. There's no connection between
control
towers and VFR flight plans, ATC wouldn't even know if you had filed a VFR
flight plan or not.

I know, ATC gets involved when FSS requests ATC to find the missing pilot.
The field may be completed unattended as in my case (Trinity Center, CA) and
FSS has no way to find out if the pilot made it safely. ATC then contacts
other pilots who are flying in to to the same airport after that missing
pilot (or divert other pilot(s), if willing, to check at that airport). It
is one of few times when filing a FP is a boon and a curse.

Here's another good reason to close your flight plan right away : if
you're flying a plane that is shared by others.

On my first x-ctry solo flight, I called to open my flight plan from A
to B. The FSS person kept saying they couldn't do that, because the
plane was already registered on a flight plan from B to A.

There were a couple of minutes of confusion, when suddenly I
remembered that I had taken off only about 15 minutes after the last
student had landed from his own solo x-ctry. So I keyed the mike and
said "Hey, I think the last student didn't close his plan yet." FSS
came back right away and laughed, "Okay, that did it. I closed his
out and yours came up!"

Whew! I almost turned back because of that.

Kev

Kevin Darling wrote:



Whew! I almost turned back because of that.

What?