LANDED AT THE WRONG ARPT. INSTRUCTOR PLT MISTAKES A MIL ARPT WITHIN RESTR AIRSPACE FOR HIS CIVILIAN UNCTLED DEST ARPT AND LANDS. HE AND HIS STUDENT PLTS WERE MET BY MIL PERSONNEL.
Synopsis
LANDED AT THE WRONG ARPT. INSTRUCTOR PLT MISTAKES A MIL ARPT WITHIN RESTR AIRSPACE FOR HIS CIVILIAN UNCTLED DEST ARPT AND LANDS. HE AND HIS STUDENT PLTS WERE MET BY MIL PERSONNEL.
Narrative
I WAS CFI/PIC ON A STUDENT TRAINING FLT FROM LGB TO L32 OCEANSIDE MUNICIPAL; CA. THERE WERE 2 STUDENTS ON BOARD. ONE WAS FLYING FROM THE L SEAT AND THE OTHER WAS IN THE BACK SEAT FOLLOWING THE FLT ON HIS LOS ANGELES SECTIONAL CHART. WE HAD FILED A FLT PLAN AND WERE USING FLT FOLLOWING FROM SOCAL. AT OCN VOR; SOCAL TOLD US OUR POS FROM L32 AND TOLD US TO SQUAWK VFR. I TOLD THE STUDENT FLYING THAT HDG OF APPROX 090 DEGS WOULD TAKE US TO OCEANSIDE MUNICIPAL. I THEN TURNED TO THE STUDENT IN THE BACK SEAT TO POINT OUT OUR POS ON THE CHART. AT THAT MOMENT; I SPOTTED AN ARPT 90 DEGS TO MY L. FOR SOME REASON THOSE 2 DIFFERENT 90 DEGS BECAME 1 IN MY MIND AND I DIRECTED MY STUDENT TO HEAD FOR IT. THE MCAS HAS A SIMILAR APPEARANCE TO L32 AND EVEN THOUGH WE FLEW THE PROPER PATTERN FOR L32 AND WERE ANNOUNCING OUR POS ON EVERY LEG; I WAS VERY SURPRISED AND EMBARRASSED TO BE MET BY THE MIL UPON LNDG. I WAS SO FOCUSED ON MY STUDENT'S PATTERN; BECAUSE IT WAS HIS FIRST IN THIS MODEL; THAT I JUST PLAIN FAILED TO SPOT MY ERROR UNTIL AFTER LNDG. UPON REFLECTION; I WOULD DEVOTE FULL ATTN TO NAV WHEN APCHING AN UNFAMILIAR ENVIRONMENT. BUT BASICALLY; I THINK MY BRAIN STALLED BECAUSE NOTHING I DID OR DIDN'T DO WAS REALLY THAT OUT OF THE ORDINARY. IT HAD BEEN A VERY GOOD FLT UNTIL THEN.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.