FLC LINES UP FOR APCH TO WRONG ARPT.

Date: 1999-05 · Aircraft: Commercial Fixed Wing · Phase: approach

Anomalies: airspace-violation-all-types|deviation-track-heading-all-types|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-clearance

Synopsis

FLC LINES UP FOR APCH TO WRONG ARPT.

Narrative

FO WAS THE PF AND I WAS ACTING AS THE PNF. WE WERE BEING VECTORED DIRECTLY TO MDT ARPT FROM THE E. APCH CTL ADVISED US TO EXPECT THE VISUAL APCH TO RWY 13. WE TUNED AND IDENTED THE ILS (NO DME) AND LOM. WHILE APCHING THE ARPT; ATC REPEATEDLY GAVE US THE RELATIVE LOCATION OF THE ARPT AND ASKED US TO CALL IT IN SIGHT. AT ONE POINT I TOLD THEM WE HAD A BEACON IN SIGHT BUT WOULD NOT CALL THE ARPT UNTIL WE COULD SEE THE RWY. FINALLY AS WE APCHED CLOSER WE SAW A SINGLE RWY WITH THE PROPER ALIGNMENT AND CALLED THE ARPT IN SIGHT. ATC IMMEDIATELY CLRED US FOR THE APCH AND SAID TO SWITCH TO TWR. MDT TWR CLRED US TO LAND. WE SEEMED CLOSE IN AND WERE RUSHED THROUGH OUR VISUAL APCH AND BEFORE LNDG CHKLISTS. I TOLD TWR WE WERE GOING TO PASS THROUGH THE EXTENDED CTRLINE WHICH WE DID. AS WE RETURNED TO WHAT WAS VISUALLY CTRLINE; WE NOTED THAT THE LOC WAS STILL OFF TO THE L AND WE WERE BELOW GS. AS WE WERE DISCUSSING THAT WE WERE GETTING CONFLICTING INFO; TWR SAID WE APPEARED TO BE LINED UP FOR CAPITAL ARPT. THEY SAID TO GO AROUND AND GAVE US A HDG AND ALT FOR A R 270 DEG TURN TO REINTERCEPT. UPON BEGINNING THE TURNOUT; WE SAW MDT AHEAD. THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN SUFFICIENT ROOM AND ALT TO SIDESTEP L AND LINE UP FOR MDT; HOWEVER THERE WAS ANOTHER ACFT BEHIND US. WE MADE A R TURN AND REINTERCEPTED AS INSTRUCTED. THIS IS A CLASSIC MISTAKE OF ALLOWING MYSELF TO BECOME RUSHED AND BEING SLOW TO ACT ON A SENSE OF UNEASE. THIS PARTICULAR TRAP IS ONE I THOUGHT I WAS TOO CAREFUL TO FALL INTO. I THINK WE WOULD HAVE IRONED IT OUT AND BROKEN OFF THE APCH BEFORE LNDG AT THE WRONG ARPT; BUT I WILL NEVER BE ABSOLUTELY SURE.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.