Originally Posted by
Dudeman
I feel like they would have chewed me out immediately after contacting departure.
Don't rely on interaction with ATC to indicate you are in trouble. They may say something. You may be told to call a number upon landing. Or you may hear nothing. As noted above, file your ASRS report. Do not write a statement or responsibility or anything incriminating in the title. "Major screwup, Did Something I Knew Was Wrong" etc. You can title it with a statement of the event (Departure before Release, or something like that, but nothing more). Further, don't make statements in the body about blame responsibility, etc. Just state what happened. Submit it within ten days, save the receipt, and keep a copy of the report for yourself, with the receipt.
The stale complaint rule generally provides that you have six months to worry about it before it drops dead, though that's not sure and fast. File the report, as there's nothing else you can do, and wait. If you're contacted with a letter of investigation, consult an aviation attorney before responding. That letter exists to encourage you to provide incriminating testimony, no matter what any of the "attitude of compliance" crowd may tell you otherwise. Same for that phone call they'd sometimes like you to make, on landing.