Oops. When getting a tattoo or an amputation, “oops” is a word you do NOT want to hear. When talking to air traffic control, it is not a word you want to find yourself saying. It probably means that you have done one of two major snafus: an altitude/heading bust or, if VFR, an airspace bust.

Picture yourself on a business trip to an extremely busy part of the country like the northeast. The weather is nothing but the cool, crisp blue skies of fall, a little wind, and the landscape burning red and orange as the leaves turn to the vibrant colors of the season. Your meeting has gone well,…