SMA PLT WITH PLT PAX LANDS AT AFB INSTEAD OF ARPT FOR WHICH HE WAS CLRED.

Narrative

DEPARTED PIE FOLLOWING THE COASTLINE OF FLORIDA W INTO ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI; DEST (GPT) GULFPORT; MS; USING FLT FOLLOWING FOR ADVISORIES. WHEN ARRIVED IN GULFPORT AREA APPROX 7 MI E OF GPT; SIGHTED ARPT THOUGHT TO BE GPT BUT REALLY WAS KEESLER AFB. AT TIME OF SIGHTING APCH HANDED US OFF TO GPT TWR. CONTACTED GPT TWR; TWR SAID LOOK FOR PWR PLANT. WE LOOKED BUT COULD NOT LOCATE PWR PLANT; CALLED TWR BACK AND SAID WE WERE UNFAMILIAR WITH AREA AND WERE OVER A BRIDGE PRESENTLY. TWR SAID NEVER MIND ABOUT THE PWR PLANT 'CLRED TO LAND RWY 18.' WE REPEATED THIS BACK WITH THE RWY ON OUR L SIDE WE TURNED FINAL THINKING WE WERE AT THE CORRECT ARPT AND LANDED. ONCE WE LANDED WE KNEW WE HAD MADE A MISTAKE. KEESLER AFB DID NOT HAVE ANY NUMBERS ON THE RWY THRESHOLD. THIS SIT COULD POSSIBLY BEEN PREVENTED BY ACFT HAVING DISTANCE MEASURING EQUIP; OR GPS OR MORE ATTN TO THE CHART OF ARPTS NEAR OUR DEST OF GPT. ATC COULD POSSIBLY HAVE HELPED BY MORE CONCERN FROM APCH WHEN HANDED OFF TO TWR. HE (APCH CTLR) COULD HAVE SAID GULFPORT FIELD 6-7 MI 12 O'CLOCK OR FROM TWR ATC; NOT JUST SAYING NEVER MIND TO OUR DISCUSSION OF BEING UNFAMILIAR WITH THE AREA AND COULD NOT FIND THE PWR PLANT. POSSIBLY HE COULD HAVE SAID PWR PLANT 12 O'CLOCK 5 MI.