Basically I got my IFR clearance and a hold for release within the DC SFRA at an uncontrolled airport late at night. Had a brain fart and departed without getting my release or void time. I immediately contacted departure to check in like normal and they never mentioned it. I didn't realize what I had done until after I landed. Should I file a NASA report or whats the move here? I feel like they would have chewed me out immediately after contacting departure.

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post it, I couldn't really find a channel that looked better for it

 

File a NASA report and wait.
Wait for 6 months and if no letter in the mail by then you’re probably going to be fine.

 

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.

 

Thanks for the advice, ill file my report and hope for the best

 

Yes, you should file a NASA report, but realize that doesn't erase a violation, it only waives the sanction, so if the FAA decided on a 60 day suspension, that would prevent that part, you'd still have a violation.

That said, 99% of all regulatory violations these days are handled under the Compliance Program, because it's a far better tool than an enforcement and involves both parties constructively addressing the issue. Go read about it. It's basically like extending the ASAP program to General Aviation, except information isn't FOIA protected like ASAP. Your example is a classic example of an inadvertent action that should be easily eligible.

And just because you don't hear a Brasher Warning doesn't mean anything relative to whether or not the potential violation is reported. Flight Standards gets reports of pilot deviations to investigate and determine whether a deviation actually occurred (sometimes the fault is on the controller, etc.). If a Brasher Warning wasn't issued, that may also waive the sanction, but better to be proactive for your certificate and file the NASA ASRS. Always assume they will report it. Yes, there are ones that are not reported, but as I just said, there are plenty that come through that don't have Brasher Warnings too. They aren't always timely either, they sometimes can sit in the system for several weeks before Flight Standards is notified and starts investigating.

 

In case you were wondering what a "Brasher warning" is, it simply refers to ATC notification to the pilot of a possible violation. It refers to an altitude deviation by a Republic captain in 1985, and the subsequent investigation. The FAA adopted a practice of immediate notification (named after Captain Brasher: the "Brasher warning"), though this is certainly not always the case, and failure to issue notification at the time of a violation, as noted, doesn't mean there won't be further investigation.

 

Generally in the event of an uncleared departure, it's possible, even likely, that the controller just assumed that you departed VFR and activated the clearance airborne. Which they accommodated without comment, if able to do so. Most of them are looking to avoid paperwork, not lean into it.

My guess is that's how they dealt with it. Assuming the field wasn't reporting 1/4 mile vis and 100' CIG, and assuming you didn't create a conflict with other IFR traffic.


Although DC SFRA is a different animal, might be ramifications beyond just ATC procedures. File the ASRS report for sure.