RAILROAD YARD IDENTED AS ARPT AND PLT STARTS APCH TO WRONG FACILITY.
Synopsis
RAILROAD YARD IDENTED AS ARPT AND PLT STARTS APCH TO WRONG FACILITY.
Narrative
I APCHED THE CHA ARPT FROM THE NW ON AN IFR FLT PLAN. CEILING AND VISIBILITY WERE UNLIMITED AT MY ALT OF 5000 FT; BUT I NOTICED PATCHES OF GND FOG AND HAZE AS I LOOKED DOWN INTO THE VALLEY WHERE CHATTANOOGA AND THE ARPT ARE LOCATED. THE SUN WAS LOW AND IN MY EYES WHEN I LOOKED TO THE L. I ACCEPTED THE VISUAL APCH TO RWY 20. THE APCH CTLR CALLED OUT THE ARPT AT MY 1 O'CLOCK POS. I SAW WHAT I THOUGHT WAS THE ARPT IN THAT GENERAL DIRECTION AND TOLD THE APCH CTLR THAT I HAD THE ARPT IN SIGHT. HE TURNED ME OVER TO THE TWR. I HAD THE LOC FREQ FOR THE ILS 20 APCH TUNED IN. AS I SET UP MY APCH FOR THE 'RWY;' I NOTICED THAT THE LOC NEVER CAME IN. I ASKED THE TWR HOW FAR OFF THE LOC CTRLINE I WAS ABOUT AT THE SAME TIME I REALIZED MY 'RWY' WAS A BIG; LONG RAILROAD SWITCHING YARD. THE TWR INFORMED ME HOW FAR OFF I WAS. WHEN I TURNED IN THE CORRECT DIRECTION; I WAS SET UP PERFECTLY FOR RWY 15. THE TWR SAID THAT RWY 15 WAS AVAILABLE; AND I LANDED ON IT WITHOUT INCIDENT. I HAVE FLOWN INTO CHA SEVERAL TIMES; BUT NEVER SO EARLY WITH THE SUN IN MY EYES. WHEN I SAW SOME PATCHES OF GND FOG; I SHOULD HAVE BEEN ESPECIALLY SURE THAT I SAW THE RIGHT RWY BEFORE I TOLD THE CTLR THAT I HAD THE FIELD IN SIGHT. IT WAS GOOD THAT I HAD THE LOC TUNED IN EVEN THOUGH I WAS MAKING A VISUAL APCH. THAT GAVE ME THE FIRST NOTICE OF MY PROB. RATHER THAN WAITING ANOTHER MIN TO SEE IF THE NEEDLE MOVED; I SHOULD HAVE USED MY LORAN; WHICH I ALSO HAD TUNED TO THE ARPT; TO GIVE ME A BEARING TO THE FIELD. I WAS JUST SURE THAT LONG STRETCH OF WHITE WAS THE RWY; AND I WASN'T GOING TO LET MY INSTS TELL ME DIFFERENT. I WAS NEVER IN ANY DANGER OF A LNDG ACCIDENT. I GENERALLY DON'T LAND IF THERE ARE BOX CARS ON THE 'RWY.' BUT IF THE ARPT HAD BEEN BUSY; I WOULD HAVE REALLY MESSED UP THE FLOW OF TFC.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.