WRONG ARPT APCH LNDG. UNAUTH LNDG. LNDG WITHOUT CLRNC.
Synopsis
WRONG ARPT APCH LNDG. UNAUTH LNDG. LNDG WITHOUT CLRNC.
Narrative
I MISTAKENLY ENTERED THE MOORE (AYE) CTL ZONE AND LANDED. I THOUGHT I WAS LNDG AT FITCHBURG (FIT) ARPT. MOORE HAS 1 RWY; RWY 14/32. FITCHBURG WAS ALSO USING RWY 14/32. THESE 2 ARPTS ARE APPROX 10 MI APART. HOW THE PROB AROSE: I WAS FLYING OUTBOUND FROM THE CONCORD VOR WHEN I WAS FOUND TO CHANGE MY COURSE BECAUSE OF LOW CLOUDS. I FLEW DIRECT TO THE CONCORD VOR AND THEN OUTBOUND ON THE 205 DEG RADIAL. A SHORT TIME LATER I TUNED IN THE FITCHBURG NDB. I TUNED THE ADF TO ANT TO IDENT THE STATION. I DID NOT TURN IT BACK TO ADF FROM ANT. THE BEARING NEEDLE ON THE ADF WAS NOW INOPERABLE. MY VOR WAS TELLING ME I WAS CTRED ON THE 205 DEG RADIAL AND MY NDB WAS TELLING ME TO TURN TO THE E. WHEN I HAD WHAT I THOUGHT WAS FITCHBURG ARPT IN SIGHT; I TURNED TOWARDS IT. THIS WAS THE SAME DIRECTION MY ADF NEEDLE WAS POINTING TO. FITCHBURG UNICOM INFORMED ME RWY 14 WAS IN USE. I SELF ANNOUNCED MY POS IN THE PATTERN AND LANDED. WHEN I WAS OVER THE NUMBERS ON FINAL I REALIZED THAT I WAS AT THE WRONG ARPT. THE CTL TWR WAS THE WRONG COLOR; FITCHBURG HAS A TWR BUT IT IS NOT USED. THERE WERE NO ACFT ON THE RAMP. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: MY OVERLOOKING THE ADF NEEDLE NOT MOVING BECAUSE IT WAS IN THE ANT MODE. BELIEVING MY VOR NAV WAS INCORRECT. NOT USING ANY PILOTAGE FOR NAV. WHEN I WAS IN THE PATTERN I WAS LOOKING FOR AN ACFT WHICH WAS ON FINAL AT FITCHBURG. I DID NOT GIVE THE ARPT A GOOD LOOK. EXCEPT FOR RWY 14/32 AND ONE TXWY; ALL OTHER TXWYS AND THE 2 CLOSED RWYS WERE SNOW COVERED. IF THEY HAD NOT BEEN SNOW COVERED I MAY HAVE NOTICED THE DIFFERENCE BTWN THE 2 ARPTS. MAKE SURE ALL NAV EQUIP IS OPERATING CORRECTLY. OVERFLY THE ARPT AND VISUALLY CHK LANDMARKS. IF THERE IS A CONFLICT; SUCH AS I HAD BTWN VOR VERSUS NDB; LOOK AT THE SIT A LITTLE MORE CLOSELY.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.