C525 ACFT IN DSCNT AND VECTORS TO TEB ARPT AT NIGHT; FLC BECAME SLIGHTLY DISORIENTED AND MISIDENTED EWR ARPT AS TEB ARPT AND SET UP FOR A VISUAL APCH CONTRARY TO APCH CTLR VECTORS. APCH CTLR INTERVENED AND VECTORED THE FLC CORRECTLY TO TEB.

Narrative

AFTER LISTENING TO THE ATIS AT TEB; 40 MI OUT FROM THE W; WE WERE EXPECTING THE ILS RWY 6 CIRCLE TO RWY 1. UPON APCHING MORRISTOWN ARPT; NEW YORK APCH INSTRUCTED US TO TURN TO A 120 DEG HDG. MY R SEAT PLT SAID HE HAD TEB IN SIGHT. THE LIGHTS FROM THE NEW YORK CITY AREA ARE VERY ILLUSIONAL AND BRIGHT AND NEVER ONCE HAVING APCHED TEB FROM THE W; I WAS UNABLE TO PICK OUT THE ARPT. UPON APCHING THE VINGS INTXN WE HAD BEEN INSTRUCTED TO 'TURN 080 DEGS LOOK FOR TFC AT YOUR 11 O'CLOCK.' MY R SEATER SAID THE ARPT WAS AT 2 O'CLOCK AND WE HAD WONDERED WHY WE HADN'T GOTTEN LOWER. I STILL HAD NOT HAD THE TFC IN SIGHT EITHER. THE CTLR NOW INSTRUCTED PROCEED TO DANDY INTXN BUT WE HAD NOT PROGRAMMED THAT INTXN IN THE KLN 90 BUT ONLY HAD THE ILS RWY 6 SET UP IN OUR RADIOS AND NAV INSTS. WE THOUGHT IT WAS STRANGE THE LOC NEEDLE STILL SHOWED TO THE R. ABEAM THE ARPT MY R SEAT PLT CALLED 'ARPT IN SIGHT' AND WE TURNED TOWARD IT AND DSNDED; FLAPS DOWN THEN GEAR. GOING THROUGH THE CHKLIST HE AGAIN CALLED 'ARPT IN SIGHT.' THE CTLR HAD BEEN VERY BUSY AND WE FIGURED HE DIDN'T HEAR US. AT 1400 FT WE WERE TOLD TO 'IMMEDIATELY TURN TO 360 DEG CLB AND MAINTAIN 2000 FT.' WE REALIZED THAT THIS WAS NEWARK ARPT WE HAD SEEN! (NEWARK WAS USING ILS RWY 4.) NOW WE WERE ON A HEADING TO TEB'S ILS RWY 6. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO THIS INCIDENT HAD BEEN NOT FOLLOWING OUR INSTRUMENTATION; FALLING BEHIND TO BE ABLE TO IDENT DANDY INTXN; CALLING THE VISUAL WAY TOO EARLY; LIGHTS ON NEW YORK AND NJ AREA LED US TO BELIEVE AND MISJUDGE WHICH ARPT WE WERE REALLY LOOKING AT. NEVER BEING CLRED FOR THE VISUAL APCH WAS OUR BIGGEST FLAW. ESPECIALLY SINCE WE HAD BEEN LINED UP WITH NEWARK'S RWY 11. ALSO WE SHOULD HAVE HAD DANDY INTXN SET UP IN THE GPS 20 MI OUT. IT WAS VFR AND WE WERE TOO CONTENT WITH GOING TO TEB AS OUR USUAL STOP -- ONLY IT'S USUALLY APCHED FROM THE NE (FROM CARMEL CMK VOR). I SHOULD HAVE NOTICED ALSO THE ADF WAS POINTING AT MY 11 O'CLOCK TOWARDS TORBY INTXN LOM. NOT HAVING THE ARPT IN SIGHT; NEVER APCHING FROM THE W; LOOKING FOR TFC; BELIEVING MY COPLT; AND LIGHTS OF NY ALL CONTRIBUTED TO MY PERSONAL UNAWARENESS. MY COPLT (WITH 9 YRS AS A NEW ENGLAND COMMUTER PLT) AND MYSELF (WITH 4 YRS CORPORATE EXPERIENCE IN NEW ENGLAND) HAD FLOWN TOGETHER 4 TIMES PREVIOUS AS WE WERE NEW CAPTS TO THE COMPANY. AS AN AFTERTHOUGHT I BELIEVE WE ALSO HAD LINED UP WITH RWY 11 BECAUSE THE ATIS HAD SAID EXPECT ILS RWY 6 CIRCLE TO RWY 1; ANOTHER ERROR IN JUDGEMENT; GETTING RWYS 1 AND 11 MIXED UP.