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.

Date: 1999-02 · Aircraft: Cardinal 177/177RG · Phase: approach

Anomalies: airspace-violation-all-types|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-far

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.