Amateur/Home Built/Experimental
Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Instrument
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 20; Flight Crew Total 3000; Flight Crew Type 350
Communication Breakdown
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Conflict Airborne Conflict; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
Aircraft; Human Factors
I started up for a return trip back from Camarillo. I listened to the ATIS; but when I tried reaching ground control on com 1; they said that they could barely understand me. I pulled over to an empty tiedown spot and tried turning the radio off and then on again. I changed to com 2 but the result was the same. I verified that the com selector switch was in the correct position for the appropriate radio; but that didn't help the situation. I pulled the plugs out of the jacks; wiped them off and reinserted them; making sure that they were pushed in all the way. I tried to transmit using the right seat headset; making sure that the plugs were clean and inserted all the way. The result was the same. I returned to com 1; and when I called they said they could hear me but the transmission was scratchy. I requested a left crosswind departure towards Pt. Mugu Naval Air Station. I taxied to the runup area; called ground to taxi to the hold line and then contacted the tower. Tower cleared me for takeoff and at 500 AGL I made my crosswind turn and called Mugu Tower. I heard no response. I tried calling Mugu again; and again; I heard nothing. I felt I needed to start a climbing u-turn back to Camarillo. I was trapped by the Class D at Mugu straight ahead; Oxnard's Class D to my right; the localizer into Oxnard paralleling Camarillo; and the pattern at Camarillo behind me. By this time I was approximately 1000 feet msl. I thought that my best chance for avoiding a potential traffic conflict was to transmit my intentions in the blind and cross over the airport at at least 500 feet above pattern altitude and head northbound and then make a right turn to the east.As soon as I started to cross the runway centerline at Camarillo; I saw a jet about a mile away; overflying the runway to my right. He was higher than I was but the tower controller and the pilot of the jet didn't know I had visual contact and that the traffic was no factor. I turned east once I was north of the runway at Camarillo and tried calling the tower again but they could still not hear me. I saw another inbound plane about a quarter of a mile away to my right headed for the airport. I was debating again whether to try and land at Camarillo; or proceed to [my destination]. I decided that the latter course of action was best; it would give me a chance to calm down and deal with the problem of entering the pattern nordo in a more familiar environment. I listened to the ATIS; and called [destination Tower]. My radio was loud and clear! Tower gave me a squawk and I entered the pattern and landed uneventfully.In retrospect; I feel that crossing the runway centerline at Camarillo was a mistake and I could have avoided the potential conflict with the jet had I made a south downwind departure. I rejected this solution because the procedure is not authorized by the tower due to the previously mentioned localizer traffic into Oxnard. Of course; the best way to solve the problem would have been to enter the pattern on the south side of Camarillo; squawking 7700/7600 and looking for lightgun signals; but again; I rejected this as creating more opportunities for conflict. And so; despite all of my efforts to avoid a conflict; I created one with the jet making a low approach.Thinking about what happened; I realize that I made 3 major mistakes: I could have scrubbed the flight and tried to resolve the radio situation on the ground. But my final communications with the ground controller at Camarillo; plus; the takeoff communications with the tower gave me the confidence that I could safely complete the flight. This was mistake number 1. Given that I was going to make the flight; instead of asking for a left crosswind towards Pt. Mugu--mistake number 2--a better idea would have been to make a right crosswind departure; getting me away from the Camarillo Class D and avoiding Pt. Mugu's and Oxnard's airspace entirely. That way I would have avoided causing the traffic conflict--mistake number 3.
A small aircraft pilot reported communication problems with ATC that led to an airborne conflict with a transport aircraft.