MLG FLC LANDS ON WRONG RWY. TWR DID NOT CORRECT THEM; NOT WANTING TO CAUSE CONFUSION.
Synopsis
MLG FLC LANDS ON WRONG RWY. TWR DID NOT CORRECT THEM; NOT WANTING TO CAUSE CONFUSION.
Narrative
ON DSCNT I WAS THE PNF SO I GOT THE ATIS WHICH GAVE THE WX AS BETTER THAN 5000 FT AND 5 MI; LNDG ON RWYS 2L/C/R. DSNDING ON DOWNWIND; WE WERE CLRED VISUAL APCH TO RWY 2L. I COULD SEE THE ARPT FROM THE L SEAT AND TOLD THE FO HE HAD ROOM TO TURN BASE LEG. HE PICKED UP THE RWY ON THE BASE TURN AND CONTINUED THE TURN TO FINAL; ROLLING OUT HIGH BUT STILL OK FOR LNDG. SOMEWHERE IN THE TURN OR JUST AFTER ROLLING OUT; I CONTACTED THE TWR AND WE RECEIVED LNDG CLRNC. AS WE CONFIGURED FOR LNDG; THE VASI SHOWED HIGH BUT THE GS; ILS; SHOWED LOW ON HIS SIDE. I CHANGED MY NAV RECEIVER FROM VOR TO ILS AND GOT A LOW SIGNAL TOO. WE ASSUMED THAT THE ILS HAD PICKED UP A FALSE GS WHEN WE ROLLED OUT HIGH ON FINAL. AT ABOUT 500-200 FT ABOVE TOUCHDOWN; I REALIZED THE LOC WAS SHOWING FULL SCALE DEFLECTION TO THE L AND QUESTIONED WHY THE ILS SIGNALS WERE SO FAR OFF (BY THIS TIME WE HAD BEEN ON THE VASI GS FOR A GOOD WHILE). AS WE CROSSED THE RWY THRESHOLD; I SAW 2C ON THE RWY; BUT I DID NOT RESPOND TO WHAT THAT WAS TELLING ME. AS WE TOUCHED DOWN THE VISUAL INDICATIONS SURROUNDING THE RWY DIDN'T LOOK RIGHT; AND I BEGAN TO REALIZE WE HAD JUST LANDED ON RWY 2C NOT RWY 2L. AS WE ROLLED OUT DOWN THE RWY AND EXITED; THE TWR CLRED US TO CROSS RWY 31 AT TXWY T4 AND CLRED TO THE RAMP. TWR NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT OUR LNDG ON RWY 2C INSTEAD OF RWY 2L. I CALLED THE TWR SUPVR ON THE PHONE. HE SAID HE HAD JUST COME INTO THE TWR AND DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT OUR FLT; BUT HE ASKED THE LCL CTLR WHO TOLD HIM HE NOTICED WE HAD LINED UP ON THE WRONG RWY BUT THOUGHT IT WOULD BE TOO MUCH OF A PROB TO PUT US BACK ON RWY 2L AND SINCE THERE WAS NO OTHER TFC; HE JUST LET US LAND ON RWY 2C. IN REVIEWING THIS IN MY MIND; IT ALL SEEMED LIKE A BAD DREAM AS IT UNFOLDED. THERE WERE NUMEROUS CLUES; BUT BOTH OF US IGNORED THEM ALL; REFUSING TO BELIEVE OR REALIZE WE HAD BOTH FOCUSED ON THE WRONG RWY (RWY 2C EXTENDS FURTHER TO THE S THAN RWY 2L AND CAME INTO CLR VIEW FIRST). I BELIEVE THAT CUMULATIVE FATIGUE CONTRIBUTED TO MY NOT RESPONDING TO ALL THE CLUES (BEING HIGH ON VASI; LOW ON ILS GS; OFF COURSE ON LOC; BUILDINGS AND GND; ETC; NOT LOOKING FAMILIAR AND FINALLY 2C ON THE RWY AND NO INST MARKINGS ON THE RWY). I KNOW NOW AND I KNEW THEN WITH ALL THESE FACTORS OR CLUES; I SHOULD HAVE DIRECTED A GAR; BUT I SIMPLY JUST DID NOT RESPOND APPROPRIATELY. THERE WAS NO OTHER TFC AND THE TWR SUPVR TOLD ME IT CAUSED NO PROB.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.