AN OUT OF TOWN CORPORATE LTT MADE AN APCH TO BEALE AFB AND NEARLY LANDED BEFORE THEY FOUND OUT THAT THEY WERE AT THE WRONG ARPT. THEIR DEST WAS LINCOLN.

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ON IFR FLT PLAN FROM SDL TO O51; APPROX 100 MI FROM LINCOLN AT ALT OF 35000 FT; WE WERE CLRED DIRECT O51. SHORTLY THEREAFTER; WE LOST OUR LONG-RANGE NAV SYS AND NOTIFIED ATC OF THIS SITUATION AND REQUESTED A RADAR VECTOR TO O51. AS WE APCHED OUR DEST; WE REQUESTED LOWER AND WERE LET DOWN IN 2000 FT INCREMENTS. APPROX 30 MI FROM OUR DEST AND STILL AT 20000 FT; WE REQUESTED LOWER AGAIN; AT WHICH TIME WE WERE TOLD TO TURN TO 315 DEGS FOR A VECTOR FOR DSCNT AND CLRED TO 18000 FT. SHORTLY AFTER THE TURN; WE SAW AN MLG BELOW US AND ASSUMED THIS WAS THE REASON CTR WAS HOLDING US HIGH. WE WERE THEN GIVEN A DSCNT TO A LOWER ALT AT WHICH TIME WE CANCELLED TO CONTINUE OUR DSCNT AND STAYED WITH CTR FOR TAS. IN OUR HASTY DSCNT; WE OBSERVED AN ARPT WITH THE SAME DIRECTION OF RWY HDGS AS LINCOLN. IN THE HAZY CONDITIONS AND IN THE PROCESS OF RUNNING OUR BEFORE-LNDG CHKLIST; WE DID NOT OBSERVE THE MIL ACFT ON THE GND. WE NOTIFIED CTR WE WERE GOING TO ADVISORY FREQ AND ENTERED A L DOWNWIND; ANNOUNCING ON ADVISORY FREQ FOR O51 OUR POS AND INTENTIONS. O51 ANSWERED AND GAVE US AN ARPT ADVISORY; WE RESPONDED WITH OUR POS AND INTENTIONS. WE RPTED DOWNWIND; BASE; AND FINAL. WE WERE CONCENTRATING ON THE END OF THE RWY V-SPDS AND LNDG CHKLISTS. APPROX 400 FT IN THE AIR AND SHORT FINAL; WE REALIZED THIS WAS NOT THE LINCOLN ARPT AND EXECUTED A CLBING R TURN UTILIZING THE PUBLISHED GAR PROC FOR THE ACFT. WE THEN PROCEEDED TO MARYSVILLE; VOR; THEN THE PUBLISHED APCH TO O51. WE FEEL THAT THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS LEADING US INTO THIS SITUATION WERE THE LOSS OF OUR LONG RANGE NAV; THE UNUSUALLY HIGH ALTS WE WERE KEPT AT; THE SAME RWY HDGS; THE HAZY VISIBILITY CONDITIONS AND OUR UNFAMILIARITY WITH THE AREA. ALL OF THESE FACTORS CONTRIBUTED TO THE EMBARRASSING AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATION WE FOUND OURSELVES IN. IN THE FUTURE; IN HAZY AND UNFAMILIAR CONDITIONS; WE WILL BE MORE INCLINED TO STAY WITH CTR AND APCH CTL UNTIL THEY HAVE IDENTED THE ARPT FOR US. UPON LNDG AT O51; WE IMMEDIATELY CALLED BEALE AIR FORCE TWR AND ALSO APCH CTL AND TOLD THEM OF THE EVENTS OF THE SITUATION. THEY WERE VERY PLEASANT AND HELPFUL.