What happened
On a scheduled flight from Toronto to Kelowna, an Air Canada Airbus A319, registration C-FYKW, was operating under restricted approach conditions due to local forest fires. Because the fire-suppression zone prohibited certain missed approach paths, only a visual approach was available at Kelowna Airport.
As the aircraft descended, the captain identified the runway at Vernon Airport, believing it to be the destination. The crew turned the aircraft toward Runway 23 at Vernon and began a visual approach. During this maneuver, the aircraft's descent rate increased significantly. After approximately 40 seconds, when the aircraft was roughly 1.3 nautical miles from the threshold and 730 feet above ground level, the crew initiated a go-around. During the maneuver, the crew received a TCAS traffic advisory from a Cessna 152 operating in the Vernon circuit. The aircraft eventually leveled off and completed a successful visual approach to the correct runway at Kelowna Airport.
The investigation
The investigation established that the captain misidentified the Vernon Airport as the Kelowna Airport. The crew did not utilize the aircraft's navigation systems to verify their heading or distance from the intended runway. Furthermore, the investigation found that the first officer was distracted by radio communications with company personnel regarding gate assignments, which delayed his intervention during the incorrect approach.
It was also noted that the crew was unaware that the instrument approaches at Kelowna were only restricted due to the fire-suppable zone boundaries, rather than equipment failure. Had the crew known the NDB or ILS approaches were functional, they might have used them to maintain situational awareness. Additionally, the Air Canada Route Manual lacked a visual transition procedure for the active runway at Kelowna and did not include information regarding the Vernon Airport frequency.
Findings
- The captain misidentified the Vernon Airport as the Kelowna Airport, leading to an unauthorized approach to the wrong aerodrome.
- The first officer was distracted by non-operational radio calls and was slow to recognize the deviation.
- The crew failed to effectively monitor the aircraft's flight path and altitude relative to the planned landing runway using available cockpit displays.
- The lack of information regarding the specific restrictions on instrument approaches contributed to the crew's reliance on visual navigation in a complex environment.