C172 CESSNA PLT MISTAKES PORT ANGELES CGAS (KNOW) FOR FAIRCHILD INTL ARPT (KCLM) AND LANDS AT WRONG ARPT.

Narrative

APR/SUN/03; APPROX XA00 LCL: WAS PREPARING TO RETURN TO UNITED STATES FROM VICTORIA BC (CYYJ). ORIGINAL INTENT WAS TO CLR US CUSTOMS AT PORT TOWNSEND; WA. CALLED PORT TOWNSEND CUSTOMS. A RECORDING INDICATED THE US CUSTOMS OFFICE WAS CLOSED BUT OFF HRS AND WEEKEND SVC COULD BE OBTAINED BY CALLING THE AGENT AT HIS HOME. THE PHONE WAS CONTINUOUSLY BUSY FOR WELL OVER AN HR. DEVIATED FROM INTENTIONS AND CALLED US CUSTOMS AT PORT ANGELES. GAVE APPROX TIME OF ARR OF XC30 LCL AND WAS TOLD XD00 LCL WOULD BE MORE FITTING TO THEIR SCHEDULE. REFS TO PORT ANGELES WITH US CUSTOMS; FSS; AND OTHER PLTS WERE ALWAYS PORT ANGELES NOT FAIRCHILD OR FAIRCHILD INTL. IDENTED PORT ANGELES ON THE SEATTLE SECTIONAL CHART AS THE ARPT IDENTED AS PORT ANGELES AND TOOK MENTAL NOTE OF ARPT IDENTIFIER; ALT; RWY LENGTH; AND COM FREQ. CALLED SEATTLE FSS TO OBTAIN WX BRIEFING; NOTAMS; AND FILE A VFR FLT PLAN; SEVERAL US CUSTOMS AND CANADIAN DOCUMENTS READ; FOR RETURN FLTS TO US; A US FLT PLAN NEEDS TO BE FILED. WAS TOLD THAT HAD CHANGED AND A FLT PLAN NEEDED TO BE FILED THROUGH A CANADIAN FSS. CALLED KAMLOOPS FSS TO OBTAIN WX BRIEFING; NOTAMS; AND FILED A VFR FLT PLAN TO PORT ANGELES WITH AN ESTIMATED TIME OF DEP OF XA15 LCL AND 40 MIN ENRTE. NO SPECIFIC ARPT IDENTIFIERS WERE USED BY THE FSS BRIEFER OR ME. PREFLTED AND ENTERED THE OBSERVED NOW AS KNOW INTO THE GPS AS THE GOTO LOCATION. OBTAINED A DEP CLRNC FROM CYYJ CLRNC DELIVERY; RECEIVED TAXI INSTRUCTIONS AND CLRNC FROM GND; TAXIED TO THE RUN-UP AREA AS INSTRUCTED; PERFORMED RUN-UP; CONTACTED THE TWR AS BEING READY FOR TKOF AND DEPARTED AS INSTRUCTED FROM CLRNC DELIVERY. THIS DEP TOOK THE ACFT OVER THE DARCY ISLAND AREA. THEN PROCEEDED TOWARD PORT ANGELES AT 2000 FT DUE TO LOW CEILING OF 3000 FT AROUND THE VICTORIA ISLAND VICINITY. SKIES WERE CLR SEVERAL MI S OF THE ISLAND ALL THE WAY TO PORT ANGELES. MAINTAINED 2000 FT FOR THE DURATION OF THE FLT. READING THE SEATTLE SECTIONAL IN THE PLANE SHOWED PORT ANGELES HAD NO WX OR BAROMETRIC INFO IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE. THIS INFO WAS OBTAINED FROM FAIRCHILD ASOS. THE ASOS INFO INDICATED THAT THE WIND WAS COMING 5-7 KTS FROM AN EASTERLY DIRECTION MAKING A LNDG IN AN EASTERLY DIRECTION INTO THE WIND THE PREFERRED CHOICE. AS I APCH THE ARPT FROM 7-10 NM OUT I ANNOUNCED MY POS AND INTENTIONS ON THE PORT ANGELES UNICOM FREQ; WHICH IS ALSO THE FREQ FOR FAIRCHILD AND STARTED A DSCNT TO PATTERN ALT. AS APCHING ON A 45 DEGS FOR A L DOWNWIND FOR AN EASTERLY LNDG I WAS ABLE TO IDENT THE RWY NUMBER (RWY 7) FOR THE PREVAILING WIND; I ANNOUNCED MY INTENTIONS ON THE 45 DEGS FOR RWY 7 AND CONTINUED TO ANNOUNCE ON DOWNWIND ENTRY; DOWNWIND; BASE AND FINAL. WHILE ABOUT TO TURN BASE ANOTHER ACFT CAME ON FREQ AND INDICATED HE WAS FURTHER OUT AND NOT IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF THE ARPT BUT WAS SETTING UP TO DO A WESTERLY LNDG ON RWY 26. I DID NOT DO THE MATH IN MY HEAD TO REALIZE RWY 7 WAS NOT THE RECIPROCAL OF RWY 26 AND NO ONE (IF ANYONE) LISTENING ON THE GND OR THIS ACFT INDICATED TO ME THAT I WAS USING AN INCORRECT RWY NUMBER IN MY ANNOUNCEMENTS. THE OTHER ACFT CONTINUED TO ANNOUNCE HIS INTENTIONS AS HE APCHED THE ARPT. AFTER LNDG I WAS TAXIING DOWN THE RWY LOOKING FOR THE US CUSTOMS FACILITY BUT SAW NO SIGNAGE INDICATING ANYTHING. I TAXIED OFF AT THE R APRON 3/4 OF THE WAY DOWN FROM THE APCH END OF RWY 7 IN FRONT OF A LARGE BUILDING ON THE R SIDE OF THE APRON AND R SIDE OF THE RWY. AS THE OTHER ACFT WAS ANNOUNCING A LNDG FROM THE OTHER DIRECTION I TURNED MY ACFT AWAY FROM THE BUILDING AND FACED THE APCH END OF RWY I BELIEVED THE OTHER ACFT WOULD BE USING FOR VISIBILITY AND SAFETY. I SAW NO OTHER ACFT IN THE PATTERN. I ASKED THE OTHER PLT IF HE KNEW WHERE THE US CUSTOMS FACILITIES WERE ON THE FIELD. HE INDICATED HE WOULD BE ON THE GND SHORTLY AND I COULD FOLLOW HIM. HIS TONE AND MANOR INDICATED TO ME HE WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE ARPT AND FACILITIES. I INDICATED THAT I DID NOT HAVE HIM IN SIGHT AND HE ASKED WHERE I WAS ON THE FIELD. I GAVE A BRIEF DESCRIPTION AND HE INDICATED HE DID NOT SEE ME ON THE FIELD AND WAS I SURE I WAS WHERE I THOUGHT I WAS AND WAS I MAYBE ON THE GNDS OF THE MIL FACILITY. I INDICATED I DIDN'T THINK SO BUT STARTED A MORE CAREFUL OBSERVATION. THIS TIME BENDING DOWN AND LOOKING UP UNDER THE HIGH WING AND BEHIND AT THE BUILDING I HAD FACED THE ACFT AWAY FROM; AND AT THIS TIME DID INDEED SEE THE FAMILIAR MIL LETTERING AND INSIGNIA. THESE WERE NOT VISIBLE FROM THE RWY 7 APCH END AND WERE NOT VISIBLE WHILE ON THE 45 DEG L TFC ENTRY POS FOR RWY 7 BECAUSE OF THE ACUTE SLANT ANGLE TO THE SIDE OF THE BUILDING WITH THE LETTERING AND INSIGNIA. I PREPARED TO DEPART THE FACILITY BUT PERSONNEL FINALLY CAME OUT AND INDICATED I SHUT DOWN. I DID AS I WAS TOLD AND FOLLOWED ALL PERSONNEL INSTRUCTIONS. I DIDN'T GET ANY NAMES OF PERSONNEL BUT ASSUME THE INDIVIDUAL WHO TOOK CHARGE WAS THE OD. WE WERE DIRECTED INSIDE THE FACILITY AND GAVE HIM MY NAME AND PHONE NUMBER AND THAT OF MY PAX AS INSTRUCTED. WE WERE THEN GIVEN PERMISSION TO LEAVE AND WE GOT THE CORRECT ARPT LOCATION OF THE CORRECT ARPT. WE DEPARTED AND MADE THE PROPER CALLS; ENTRIES; AND LNDG AT FAIRCHILD TO CLR CUSTOMS. THE LNDG AND SUBSEQUENT TKOF AT THE MIL FACILITY WERE PERFORMED WITH NO DANGER TO ANY PERSONS OR PROPERTY. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: 20/20 HINDSIGHT WOULD INDICATE I WAS OVERLY CONCERNED ABOUT CLRING US CUSTOMS PROPERLY AND THE CHANGE IN THE US CUSTOMS ARPT ADDED TO THE STRESS. I HAD NEVER PLT'ED AN ACFT OUT OF THE COUNTRY AND WANTED TO MAKE SURE THERE WERE NO ISSUES. THIS STRESS CAUSED ME TO OVERLOOK FLT-PLANNING ITEMS I AM NORMALLY VERY THOROUGH ABOUT; PARTICULARLY IN GETTING ALL AVAILABLE INFO ABOUT ARPTS OF INTENDED USE. ALL INFO ABOUT ARPTS OF INTENDED USE WAS OBTAINED BEFORE EVEN STARTING THE FLT FROM MY BASE ARPT. THIS INFO WAS OBTAINED ONLINE FROM A FLT PLANNING SIGHT ARPT DIRECTORY. PORT ANGELES WAS NOT OBTAINED WHEN DOING THE OVERALL PLANNING BECAUSE IT WAS NOT AN ARPT OF INTENDED USE. I DIDN'T HAVE ACCESS TO ONLINE SVCS OR AN ARPT DIRECTORY WHEN THE DEV FROM PORT TOWNSEND OCCURRED. ON THE CHART THE LONGITUDINAL LINE OF 123.30 OBLITERATES THE 'I' IN INTL OF FAIRCHILD INTL SO VISUALLY THE NAME OF THE ARPT WAS FAIRCHILD NTL (CLM). THE ARPT INFO FOR FAIRCHILD IS MAGENTA LETTERING ON VARYING HUES OF GREEN; YELLOW; VARYING BLACK LINES AND SOME INFO IS ALSO OBLITERATED BY THE CLASS E SURFACE AIRSPACE MAGENTA DASHED LINE. MENTALLY THIS NOW BECOMES JUST ANOTHER ARPT LOCATED AT THE TOWN OF PORT ANGELES. CARE SHOULD BE TAKEN WHEN CHARTS ARE PUBLISHED THAT OTHER ITEMS ON THE CHART DO NOT OBLITERATE SIGNIFICANT LETTERS IN AN ARPT'S NAME ESPECIALLY WITH A LETTER SUCH AS 'I.' THE CGAS OF PORT ANGELES CGAS IS BROKEN TO THE SECOND LINE FROM THE ARPT NAME OF PORT ANGELES SO IT BECOMES INSIGNIFICANT TO THE MIND'S EYE BECAUSE THE ARPT NAME PORT ANGELES HAS BEEN DISCOVERED. ARPT MIL USE DESIGNATION SUCH AS: CGAS; AFB; ETC; SHOULD NOT BY THEMSELVES BE BROKEN FROM THE ARPT NAME UNLESS THE ARPT NAME IS TO BE BROKEN. THE MIL USE DESIGNATION SHOULD BE KEPT WITH THE ARPT NAME OR A PART OF THE ARPT NAME. THE LEGEND ON THE CHART FOR MIL USE DESIGNATION READS: ALL MIL ARPTS ARE IDENTED BY ABBREVIATIONS AFB; NAS; AAF; ETC. FOR COMPLETE INFO CONSULT DOD FLIP. THE MIL IS A BIG ENOUGH ENTITY THAT GCAS SHOULD ALSO APPEAR IN THE LEGEND TEXT. I ONLY SAW THE ONE SIGN ON THE FACILITIES BUILDINGS DESIGNATING ITS OWNERSHIP. THERE MAY BE MORE BUT I DIDN'T SEE THEM FROM MY APCH. THE RWY AND TXWY WAS NOT STENCILED WITH THE FACILITY NAME EITHER. THE ARPT SYMBOL ON THE CHART IS IDENTICAL TO THE SYMBOL REPRESENTATION FOR ANY OTHER GA ARPT. THE ONLY TIME THERE IS A DISPLAY OF 2 CIRCLES TO DESIGNATE A MIL USE ARPT IS IF THE ARPT IS OTHER THAN HARD SURFACED. WITH THE ADVENT OF POST 9/TUE/01 TSA ALL MIL ARPTS NEED TO BE DESIGNATED DIFFERENTLY ON THE CHARTS SO THEY CAN BE EASILY VISUALLY IDENTED ON THE CHART. BOTH FACILITIES USE THE SAME FREQ. NO GND MONITORING OF THE FREQ IS BEING DONE AT EITHER FACILITY TO AVOID CONFUSION OF 2 ARPTS BEING IN SUCH CLOSE PROX. IF THE MIL IS GOING TO USE A UNICOM FREQ INSTEAD OF A TWR THEY SHOULD MONITOR THE FREQ AND HAVE SOMEONE LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW ONCE IN A WHILE. AT LEAST WITH A TWR; TWR PERSONNEL MAY HAVE BEEN ASTUTE ENOUGH TO POS A RED LIGHT ON AN APCHING ACFT NOT ON FREQ OR INDICATE TO AN ACFT ON THE TWR FREQ THAT THE ARPT OF INTENDED USE IS NOT A GA ARPT.