DA42 Twin Star
Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 35; Flight Crew Total 774; Flight Crew Type 94
Distraction; Situational Awareness
Airspace Violation All Types; Conflict Airborne Conflict; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Flight Crew Exited Penetrated Airspace; Flight Crew Became Reoriented; Flight Crew Overcame Equipment Problem
Airspace Structure; Chart Or Publication; Procedure
Departed VFR; remained under Class Charlie until clear of airspace; then started step climb to cruise altitude of 7;500 feet; with steps at 3;900 feet and 5;900 feet to remain under outer rings of Class Bravo; on a heading towards the destination. I was climbing at 120 knots; for 1;000 feet per minute and monitoring a TRACON frequency; though it is possible that I wasn't in that frequency's sector.It is an area of intense VFR traffic; due to proximity of training airports and various VFR corridors. The advisory traffic information system (TIS; not TCAS etc.) was tracking several targets; most of which I identified visually. Somewhere the G1000 issued a traffic alert of a climbing aircraft in close proximity (amber large target). I attempt several times to identify visually this target (a challenge in a low wing aircraft) while maintaining my rate of climb on the assumption that 1;000 feet per minute will outclimb most VFR aircraft below me.I was under the 6;000 foot - 10;000 foot MSL ring of Class Bravo; approaching the 8;000-10;000 foot boundary. It is possible I might have clipped the 5;999 foot ceiling just before its boundary while focused on identifying visually the traffic. I decided it could simply be a 'shadow' of own ship and recycle the traffic system (ON-Standby-OFF-ON) and it disappeared. I was by then well below the 8;000 - 10;000 foot Class Bravo ring; and leveled off at 7;500 feet. However I did lose sight of the Class Bravo 6;000 boundary for a couple of seconds while still in the climb; at 1;000 feet per minute I could have easily violated by 100-200 feet. I have revised my VFR procedures to use the autopilot for step climbs when in complicated airspace with lots of VFR traffic.
DA42 pilot reported they may have entered SFO Bravo airspace without a clearance while troubleshooting the G1000 traffic information system.