ACR FREIGHTER STARTS DSCNT INTO WRONG ARPT.
Synopsis
ACR FREIGHTER STARTS DSCNT INTO WRONG ARPT.
Narrative
WE APCHED SHV REGIONAL ARPT FROM THE NE. WE WERE DSNDED THROUGH AN OVCST AT DAWN AND ADVISED BY SHV APCH TO FLY A HDG OF 240 DEGS VECTORS FOR A VISUAL APCH TO SHV ARPT. WE WERE TOLD TO DSND TO 3000 FT AND ADVISED THAT THE ARPT WAS AT 10 O'CLOCK. WE SAID WE HAD THE ARPT IN SIGHT AND WERE TOLD TO SWITCH TO REGIONAL TWR. THE TWR CLRED US FOR A VISUAL APCH TO RWY 14. I BEGAN A L BASE APCH TO RWY 14 AT SHV ARPT. AT ABOUT 1800 FT MSL THE TWR ADVISED US WE WERE APCHING THE WRONG ARPT AND ADVISED US TO CLB TO 2000 FT AND PROCEED 8 MI FURTHER SW. AFTER LNDG I CALLED THE TWR AND WAS TOLD THAT HE HAD US ON RADAR AND VISUALLY THE WHOLE TIME. HIS PROMPT ACTION PREVENTED AN EMBARRASSING SIT FROM BECOMING EVEN MORE SO. I BELIEVE DOWNTOWN TWR WAS NOT IN OP AT THAT TIME. PRIOR TO DSCNT WE HAD SET UP OUR NAVAIDS WITH #1 VOR ON DTN #2 VOR ON EMG AND THE NDB ON CRAKK. WHEN GIVEN THE VECTOR OF '240 DEGS EXPECT A VISUAL APCH.' I SWITCHED TO THE 14 LOC FREQ 110.3 IN ACCORDANCE WITH COMPANY PROC. I ASKED THE FO; WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN TO SHV; IF WE HAD THE RIGHT ARPT. HE CONFIRMED THAT DOWNTOWN WAS THE ARPT OF INTENDED LNDG. I CHKED THE ADF NEEDLE AND IT CONFIRMED THE OM WAS TO OUR R. FROM OUR POS REGIONAL WAS IN LINE WITH DOWNTOWN SO THE POS OF CRAKK INTXN APPEARED TO COINCIDE WITH WHAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR RWY 14 AT DOWNTOWN. BOTH ARPTS HAVE THE SAME RWY CONFIGNS (14/32 AND 5/23). THE VISUAL CONDITIONS (DAWN) MADE IT DIFFICULT TO JUDGE DISTANCE. WE WERE ALSO CONCERNED WITH A LNDG GEAR DOOR PROB AND HAD DIVERTED OUR ATTN TO THAT MOMENTARILY. I HAD SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT BEING AT THE RIGHT ARPT BECAUSE OF THE SIZE OF THE RWYS ABOUT THE TIME THE CTLR CALLED US ON IT. WE WERE UNABLE TO GET A PROPER SIGNAL ON THE LOC AND ASKED IF RWY 14 LOC WERE 'UP.' WE SHOULD HAVE KEPT 1 VOR ON DTN SO AS TO IDENT OUR POS SINCE NO NAVAID IS CO- LOCATED AT SHV REGIONAL AND HAVE POSITIVELY IDENTED OUR POS BY XING CRAKK RATHER THAN CUTTING INSIDE IT FOR A CLOSER R BASE. A NOTE ON THE APCH PLATE AS WITH SOME OTHER ARPTS STATING THAT 'SHREVEPORT DOWNTOWN (DTN) MAY BE SHREVEPORT REGIONAL (SHV) WHEN APCHING FROM THE NE' MIGHT BE HELPFUL. THERE WAS NO TFC IN THE AREA AND I D NOT BELIEVE ANY FAR WAS VIOLATED. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATES SEVERAL FACTORS WERE INVOLVED IN THIS INCIDENT. THIS WAS AN ALL NIGHT FLT AND THE FATIGUE FACTOR WAS HIGH. THE EARLY MORNING HR AND CIRCADIAN RHYTHM PROBS MAKE THIS THE WORST TIME OF THE FLT. COMPANY PROC STATES THAT AT THE FIRST VECTOR FOR APCH; CREW SHOULD TURN RADIOS TO INBOUND COURSE. IN THIS CASE THAT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN THE BEST CHOICE. THE FLT WAS LATE AND CAPT CHOSE TO CUT INSIDE THE MARKER TO MAKE UP SOME TIME. THE DOWNTOWN ARPT IS NOT SHOWN ON THE HIGH ALT CHART AS AN ARPT; JUST THE VOR. RPTR QUESTIONED FO THAT THE RWYS LOOKED AWFULLY SHORT. REALIZED SOMETHING WAS WRONG ABOUT THE TIME THE CTLR CALLED THEM. SUGGESTION IS TO SHOW DOWNTOWN ARPT ON CHART AND PLACE A NOTE ON THE APCH CHART FOR FLTS FROM THE NE TO BE AWARE OF THE DOWNTOWN ARPT WHICH MIGHT BE MISTAKEN FOR SHV AS IS DONE ON THE APCH CHART AT SAN JUAN. HE IS NOT ALONE ON THIS MISTAKE; HE HEARD AN ACR BEING QUESTIONED BY THE TWR LATER IN THE MONTH WHEN APCHING SHV. HE HAD MADE THE SAME MISTAKE.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.