Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 20; Flight Crew Total 1330; Flight Crew Type 225
Distraction; Situational Awareness; Confusion; Communication Breakdown
Airspace Violation All Types; Conflict Airborne Conflict; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Human Factors
I was attempting to fly to a private airport for a fly-in. Usually when I go any distance to a specific destination I get flight following but on this occasion I did not as anticipated 'wandering around' at a relatively low altitude and wanted to monitor the designated CTAF for the expected high volume of traffic. I was unable to locate [the field]; as it was not in my G1000 database and the location was not on my sectional. I turned back to [departure airport] and was half way back when I found that [the private airport] was in the database of my ForeFlight app on my cell phone. Of some importance was the fact that I had passed by an airport that I thought might be [a local skydive airport] but was puzzled as there was no sign of activity. In retrospect; this was actually [another field] which has a similar configuration but is unpaved. I decided to go back for another look; making a 180 degree turn to the north; using the Fore Flight map on my phone for guidance. Suddenly in my field of view I saw two parachutists ahead of me and slightly to the left; as well as a Twin Otter at my altitude. I immediately realized I had entered the drop zone; but by the time I started to react; the Twin Otter had swung around to my right; wagging its wings. I made a turn to the right; but not as sharp as I would normally done in the situation as I feared a collision with the other plane. I continued north and found [the private airfield]; but was sufficiently rattled that I thought it unwise to land at a narrow unfamiliar airport and returned to [the departure airport]. On approach the tower informed me that ATC Center had called them with the report that I had almost hit the parachutists.CONTRIBUTING FACTORS:I was annoyed and in a hurry because I had initially planned to take my antique aircraft; but found on run up that it had a fouled plug; so I hurried to the 182 and took off without adequate planning. If I had looked up the exact location of [the private airfield] and entered the GPS coordinates I would have not had a problem. Also; I had promised my wife that I would be back in time for an event and was unlikely to make it; so I was stressed. If I had thought ahead; I would have been more actively on the lookout for [the skydive field] and would have monitored their advisory frequency. And of course if I had gotten flight following; ATC would have warned me of the hazard.Finally; I have Traffic Information Service (TIS) in the aircraft and it was active during the flight; showing multiple targets below me when I was in the region of [the private field]. I had gotten at least one audio warning. I cannot understand why I did not get both a visual and audio warning of the presence of the Twin Otter; since it was extremely close and at my altitude. Was its transponder in operation? To summarize:1. Disorientation due to confusion and 'wandering around.'2. Misidentification of [an airport] and not taking the time to accurately recognize and make the correct identification.3. Hurried planning and execution due to time pressure.4. NOT USING FLIGHT FOLLOWING!5. Spending too much time with my head down looking at my iPhone map.6. Overdependence on TIS.I have lost a lot of sleep over this. I have been flying for over 60 years without incident and to have collided with a parachutist would have been a shameful end!
The pilot of a C182 reported an airborne conflict with skydivers and the jump airplane while distracted due to pilotage problems.