MD SUPER 80 FLC INITIATED A VISUAL APCH TO THE WRONG ARPT AND DISCOVERED FROM THE VOR LOC THAT THEY WERE NOT TURNING BASE TO THEIR DEST ARPT.

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FO WAS FLYING AND WE HAD BEEN ISSUED A VISUAL APCH TO SAN JOSE ARPT ON A L DOWNWIND LEG ABOUT ABEAM MOFFETT FEDERAL AIRFIELD. FLT VISIBILITY WAS ACTUALLY QUITE GOOD; AT LEAST 10 MI. HOWEVER; A SLIGHT HAZE HAD STARTED TO FORM IN THE DARKNESS JUST ENOUGH TO CONFUSE SOME OF THE GND LIGHT PATTERNS. BOTH THE FO AND MYSELF HAVE OPERATED IN AND OUT OF THIS ARPT FOR YRS AND ARE FAMILIAR WITH THIS APCH AND ARPT. UNFORTUNATELY; ON ACCEPTING A VISUAL APCH CLRNC; I BELIEVE WE MISTOOK MOFFETT AIRFIELD FOR THE SAN JOSE ARPT CAUSING AN EARLY TURN. OUR INSTRUCTIONS FROM APCH CTL WERE TO INTERCEPT FINAL AT OR ABOVE 2000 FT MSL. WE HAD CLRNC TO LAND FROM THE TWR. A QUICK CHK OF VOR AND LOC INFO INDICATED OUR POS WAS OFF AND JUST WHERE WAS THE REAL ARPT? SIT WAS SORTED OUT QUICKLY; BUT BASE LEG TIGHTER THAN NORMAL AND INTERCEPT OF FINAL OVER CITY ABOUT 1000 FT MSL; LOWER THAN WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN. I DO NOT FEEL SAFETY WAS AN ISSUE AS NO UNUSUAL MANEUVERING WAS REQUIRED BUT WE WERE LOWER AND CLOSER IN THAN NORMAL. LESSON: BEWARE FAMILIARITY; NIGHT AND THE END OF A LONG DAY. IT CAN ALL ADD UP TO A 'GOTCHA.'