forgot to close my flight plan.

C

cuy

New Member
I was getting ready to sleep, when I heard the doorbell ring. I thought, hmmm... perhaps it is my bro coming back after a late night or something. I open the door and I see two police officers who ask me my name, and tell my that the FAA is out looking for me. I forgot to close my flight plan.:(. So they have me call this guy, but the number is a long-distance number, and i don't have long distance service, so they have me call the police department, who has the long distance dude call me and confirm that i was found, where i landed, etc.

My gosh, i had never been that frightened in a while. I called FSS and closed my flight plan. Anyways, i at least have some peace of mind knowing that i got off the hook this time. This has been a lesson i will never forget. Phew....:o
 
That happens. That's why it's very important to give to a good phone number to call. I know on most flight plan forms it says give the number to where the aircraft is based, but that doesn't help much when it's midnight and no ones there. I started giving FSS my cell number when I was instructing. So if I did forget to close a VFR flight plan (which happened sometimes) they'd call my cell as I was driving home from work. Another thing you could do is write "Call FSS!" on the shutdown or post flight portion of your aircraft checklist.:)
 
It happens. Don't sweat it, but don't make the same mistake again. This is why they have the signs that say "did you close your flight plan" at so many FBOs and why a lot of line guys will remind you to do it.
 
KLB said:
Another thing you could do is write "Call FSS!" on the shutdown or post flight portion of your aircraft checklist.:)
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:yeahthat:

I cancel in the air a lot, I just stick it in standby (if it's a short flight) and that reminds me as I get closer to give them a call.
 
Yea I'd recommend giving your cell phone number when you file. As mentioned above atleast they'll call before they send out search and rescue. That sucks about having the 5-0 show up at your door. :crazy:
 
I forgot one time as a commercial student. I gave the phone number of the flight school on the flight plan. They called the school and were informed we were safely on the ground and situation was over.... but I didn't know that.

My instructor had a friend call me pretending to be from the FAA. This guy proceeded to tell me how big of a deal it is when they have to send out search and rescue and how it works and what a crappy pilot I had to be to forget to close my flight plan. Needless to say, so far I have never forgotten again (so far).
 
Yeah, been there before...

Luckily they just called the school where I was and they confirmed right then and there. I wonder how many people forget each day?

Put a little sticker up in your car... "Did you close your flight plan today?"

:)
 
There are a lot of different memory jogging tricks that help. Put your watch on the "wrong" arm. Tie something to the outside of your flight bag. Call your own cell phone and leave a reminder. Clip something to the front of your shirt or do something that you will see when you look in the mirror in the restroom at your desination airport. If you have a customized checklist, add it as an item in the checklist. The tough part is developing a habit pattern that initiates the reminder action.
 
I did it once too, and sent in a NASA report just because. Never heard about it again, but they got me on the first phone call, so nobody got dispatched. I thought usually they'd just send the sheriff down to the flightline to look for the tail number in question--guess your case got a little more involved though.

:bandit:
 
I was sitting in a physics class at Oklahoma State and jumped up and ran out of the room in the middle of class. I realized I'd forgotten to close my flight plan from a time building cross country earlier that day! I called the FSS and they said that when I didn't cancel it they just called the KRVS tower and asked if I'd been through there in the past hour. They confirmed I had landed so the case was closed.

I had to explain all that as I walked back into class :crazy:
 
jwp_145 said:
I was sitting in a physics class at Oklahoma State and jumped up and ran out of the room in the middle of class. I realized I'd forgotten to close my flight plan from a time building cross country earlier that day! I called the FSS and they said that when I didn't cancel it they just called the KRVS tower and asked if I'd been through there in the past hour. They confirmed I had landed so the case was closed.

I had to explain all that as I walked back into class :crazy:
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Any excuse to jump up and shout in front of your peers, LOOK AT ME, I'm a pilot!!!! :laff:

We've all been there man. ;)
 
Im pretty sure that everyone has forgotten to close at least once. :o

I bet you won't do it again after this though right? :cool:
 
darrenf said:
Any excuse to jump up and shout in front of your peers, LOOK AT ME, I'm a pilot!!!! :laff:

We've all been there man. ;)
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I never tell people I'm a pilot unless specifically asked. I just say I work at the airport cuz I don't like answering the same questions over and over. But in that instance I had to 'splain why.
 
jwp_145 said:
I was sitting in a physics class at Oklahoma State and jumped up and ran out of the room in the middle of class. I realized I'd forgotten to close my flight plan from a time building cross country earlier that day! I called the FSS and they said that when I didn't cancel it they just called the KRVS tower and asked if I'd been through there in the past hour. They confirmed I had landed so the case was closed.

I had to explain all that as I walked back into class :crazy:
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Weird five instructors went down to Ardmore and back, we all decided to eat at the BBQ restaurants with our students. Well it seems like 10 people forgot to change their time on the flight plan. Sure enough when we landed in RVS they told us to call FSS. Why didn't they close it for us, since we were still in the air?:dunno:
 
About thirty minutes into my CFI checkride I got a call from FSS about closing my flight plan. At the time I had the number for the local FSS programmed in my phone so when the call came in I looked up and said to the inspector, "That's odd, Flight Service is calling me." That was a little embarressing. :o

Alex.
 
SFCC/UND said:
Weird five instructors went down to Ardmore and back, we all decided to eat at the BBQ restaurants with our students. Well it seems like 10 people forgot to change their time on the flight plan. Sure enough when we landed in RVS they told us to call FSS. Why didn't they close it for us, since we were still in the air?:dunno:
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mmm I could go for some blue pig right now.

There are those that have and those that will. I'm pretty sure that getting billed for the SAR efforts is just a myth, however.
 
At my school when people forget to close flight plans we find out from the tower that FSS called them and they closed it. I always found that interesting.
 
I actually did this on the last x country I went on. Got back to the FBO I had landed at and the workers inside said someone had called looking for me and they told the person on the phone I was indeed there.
No biggie apparently, though I was pretty embarassed as well as a little dissapointed taht I had forgotten to close it.
Oh well, lesson learned...I hope.
 
So i hope this doesn't hijack to much, but has anyone else had any problems with Lockhead FS recently regarding actually closing flight plans? We had maybe half a dozen students AND instructors last semester close a flight plan only to start getting the call from FSS inquiring about the aircraft. Not sure what's happening but there seems to be some type of communication break down at the FSS level.
 
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