PA28 PLT AND PAX ON VFR FLT FROM MLB TO LAL LANDS AT LAL WHILE ON MLB FREQ.

Date: 2000-02 · Aircraft: PA-28R Cherokee Arrow All Series

Anomalies: deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy|ground-incursion-taxiway

Synopsis

PA28 PLT AND PAX ON VFR FLT FROM MLB TO LAL LANDS AT LAL WHILE ON MLB FREQ.

Narrative

ON FEB/MON/00 AT APPROX XA30 ON OUR WAY TO LAL; WE WERE CRUISING AT 3500 FT ON THE 080 DEG RADIAL FROM LAL INBOUND FOR LNDG WITH GOOD VFR WX. ORL FLT FOLLOWING TERMINATED US ABOUT 20 MI FROM LAL AT 3500 FT. WE ACQUIRED ATIS AND IT WAS RPTING VFR. THE WX AHEAD LOOKED LOW; SO WE BEGAN OUR DSCNT TO 1000 FT TO MAINTAIN VFR. WE ACQUIRED ATIS INFO FROM LAL AT APPROX XA45 AND 15 MI OUT. ATIS INFO STATED VFR CONDITIONS; VISIBILITY 7 MI; TEMP 18 DEGS; DEWPOINT 16 DEGS; CLOUDS SCATTERED AT 1800 FT AND THE ALTIMETER WAS 30.04 AND RWY 27 WAS CLOSED AND RWY 23 WAS IN USE VISUAL; AS I CAN RECALL. UPON RECEIVING THE INFO; I SWITCHED THE RADIOS FOR THE PF TO TWR FREQ 124.5. HOWEVER; IT WAS LATER DISCOVERED WHAT I ACTUALLY DIALED IN; BY ACCIDENT; WAS 124.05 (124.05 IS THE SECONDARY FREQ FOR MELBOURNE TWR). THE FOLLOWING COMS BTWN OUR ACFT AND THE TWR ARE TO THE BEST OF MY MEMORY. I CALLED LAL TWR STATING THAT WE WERE 10 MI TO THE E INBOUND FOR LNDG AND WE HAD ATIS INFO. THE TWR REPLIED AND SAID TO RPT THE RIVER FOR RWY 27R. AFTER FURTHER EXAMINING THE SECTIONAL; I COULD NOT LOCATE A RIVER AMONGST THE MANY LAKES THAT SURROUND THE ARPT AND BEGAN TO SCAN VISUALLY. I STATED TO THE PF THAT 'I DIDN'T KNOW LAL HAS A RWY 27R.' HE ADVISED ME THAT DURING SUN N' FUN FLY-IN; THE PARALLEL TXWY IS OFTEN USED AS A RWY. I ACKNOWLEDGED THIS AS IT MADE SENSE BECAUSE RWY 27 WAS RPTED CLOSED. AS WE APCHED THE ARPT; THE TWR REQUESTED OUR POS. WE ADVISED THAT WE WERE 5 MI OUT; WOULD LIKE HIM TO TURN UP THE LIGHTS AND CONFIRM VISIBILITY BECAUSE OUR FLT VISIBILITY APPEARED TO BE DETERIORATING. THE TWR STATED VISIBILITY WAS 7 MI. AS BEST I CAN RECALL; THE TWR CLRED US TO LAND RWY 27R WHEN WE HAD IT IN SIGHT. WE ACKNOWLEDGED THIS. APCHING LAL; WE ASKED THE TWR AGAIN TO TURN UP THE RWY LIGHTS; AS THEY DID NOT APPEAR TO BE ON; AND 'CONFIRM THAT RWY 27R WAS THE PARALLEL TXWY.' THE TWR REPLIED; 'WHAT ABOUT THE TXWY; AND THE LIGHTS ARE UP.' ON SHORT FINAL I COULD SEE THE RWY 27R PAINTED ON THE SURFACE WITH LNDG SPOT MARKERS THAT CONFIRMED TO ME THAT OUR LNDG INSTRUCTIONS WERE PROPER AND I NOTED THE CONSTRUCTION ON THE MAIN RWY 27. THE ACFT TOUCHED DOWN ON THE LNDG SPOT MARKER NUMBER 2 AND WE ROLLED TO A STOP AND EXITED WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS THE RWY. WE CONTACTED GND. GND TOLD US 'YOU HAVE JUST LANDED IN IFR CONDITIONS; WITHOUT CLRNC; ON A TXWY; PLTDEV; CONTACT THE TWR BY PHONE.' I CONTACTED THE TWR AND GAVE THEM MY INFO SINCE I WAS OPERATING THE RADIOS AND LAL TWR SAID WE HAD NOT CONTACTED THEM; WE THEN FOUND THAT THE RADIO WAS SET TO 124.05 INSTEAD OF 124.50. THE ENTIRE TIME WE THOUGHT WE WERE TALKING TO LAL TWR; MELBOURNE TWR WAS RESPONDING TO US. MELBOURNE HAS A RWY 27R. I DID PREFIX MY INITIAL; AND I BELIEVE SUBSEQUENT CALLS WITH 'LAL TWR.' I DO NOT RECALL MELBOURNE TWR EVER CORRECTING ME OR ASKING WHY I CONTACTED THEM ON THE SECONDARY FREQ. WHEN ASKED TO CONFIRM VISIBILITY; THE TWR CONFIRMED 7 MI VISIBILITY; WHICH CONCURRED WITH ATIS INFO AT LAL. ATIS INFO WAS STATED DURING THE INITIAL CALL TO THE TWR. PREVENTION OF A RECURRENCE: DURING 1 OF MY 3 SEPARATE PHONE CONVERSATIONS WITH LAL TWR SHORTLY AFTER THIS ON THAT SAME MORNING; THE TWR OPERATOR SAID THAT 'THIS HAS BEEN A PROB BEFORE.' WHEN I ASKED 'WHAT DO YOU MEAN?' HE ONLY REFERRED TO 'THE FREQS AND OTHER TWRS IN THE AREA.' IT MAY ASSIST IN THE FUTURE IF TWRS WERE TO IDENT THEMSELVES MORE THAN ONCE DURING LNDG PHASES. PERHAPS ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS SHOULD BE MADE WHEN PUTTING 2 TWRS; BOTH WITH A RWY 27; AND IN THIS CASE BOTH HAD SOME FORM OF A RWY 27R; IN SUCH A CLOSE GEOGRAPHICAL AREA WITH FREQS THAT CAN BE EASILY MISTAKEN.

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