AN SMA PLT APCHED THE WRONG ARPT IN AN EMER SIT.

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ON SEP/SUN/93 I DEPARTED REPUBLIC ARPT; NY; (FRG) ON A XCOUNTRY FLT TO BENNINGTON; VT (SB5); WHEN ROUGHLY 20 MI N OF BRIDGEPORT A LARGE VIBRATION STARTED COMING FROM THE ENG. AS I STARTED TO TROUBLE-SHOOT THE PROB; I MADE A R HAND TURN TO RETURN TO BRIDGEPORT. I RECEIVED THE ATIS AND CONTACTED BRIDGEPORT TWR TELLING THEM OF MY LOCATION TO THE ARPT. THEY TOLD ME TO RPT A 2 MI R BASE FOR RWY 24; AND I COMPLIED. I SET THE ACFT UP FOR THE 2 MI R BASE; NOT REALIZING IT WAS NEW HAVEN ARPT AND NOT BRIDGEPORT. I RPTED THE R BASE AND TWR SAID THEY DID NOT HAVE ME IN SIGHT; SO I CONTINUED. AT THIS POINT I REALIZED I WAS NOT AT BRIDGEPORT BUT RATHER AT NEW HAVEN. I TURNED FINAL SO I WOULD FLOW WITH TFC AT NEW HAVEN AND CONTACTED BRIDGEPORT TWR TELLING THEM I WAS ON A FINAL FOR RWY 20 AT NEW HAVEN. BRIDGEPORT TWR TOLD ME TO GAR AND TO CONTACT NEW HAVEN TWR; WHICH I DID. I TOLD NEW HAVEN TWR OF THE MISTAKE AND THAT I WAS SORRY; AND THEY CLRED ME TO LAND RWY 20. I FEEL THE REASON I SET UP FOR THE WRONG ARPT IS THAT I WAS MORE WORRIED ABOUT THE ACFT AND NOT MY POS OVER THE GND. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR STATES THAT PART OF HIS EXHAUST MANIFOLD HAD BROKEN CAUSING A LOT OF NOISE AS WELL AS VIBRATION. THE ENG WAS STILL ABLE TO PRODUCE FULL PWR. BPR TWR ASKED THE RPTR IF HE COULD GAR; SO HE DID. THERE APPARENTLY IS A LANDLINE BTWN BPR AND HVN TWRS AS THIS SIT HAPPENS REGULARLY. NO EMER WAS DECLARED.