C525 CREW MISIDENTED FXE; AND BEGAN A VISUAL APCH TO PMP INSTEAD OF FXE. THE PLTS WERE SEAT SWAPPING AT THE TIME.

Narrative

WHILE REPOSITIONING A CITATION JET FROM MARSH HARBOR; BAHAMAS (MYAM) TO FORT LAUDERDALE EXECUTIVE; FL (FXE); AS PNF; SITTING IN THE R SEAT; I TUNED AND LISTENED TO THE ATIS BROADCAST FOR OUR DEST ABOUT 20 MINS PRIOR TO OUR ARR. I WAS SURPRISED TO HEAR THAT ALTHOUGH VISUAL APCHS TO RWY 26 WERE IN USE; THERE WAS A SOLID OVCST RPTED AT 5000 FT. IT IS COMMON PRACTICE IN OUR COMPANY TO BACK UP VISUAL APCHS WITH WHATEVER ALTERNATIVE FORM OF NAV THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE FOR THE PARTICULAR RWY THAT WE ARE TO USE. IN THIS CASE; THE ONLY AVAILABLE BACKUP APCH WAS AN RNAV TO RWY 26. ALTHOUGH WE ARE NOT AUTH TO USE SUCH AN APCH; WE TEND TO USE SUCH APCHS AS A GUIDELINE FOR TERRAIN CLRNC AND SITUATIONAL AWARENESS WHEN CONDUCTING VISUAL APCHS; WHENEVER AVAILABLE. AS WE APCHED OUR DEST; AND AFTER BEING HANDED OFF TO LCL APCH CTL; WE WERE GIVEN FURTHER DSCNT TO 3000 FT. AS WE PASSED THROUGH ABOUT 4000 FT THE CTLR INDICATED THE POS OF THE ARPT WITH REF TO OUR CURRENT ACFT COURSE. WE WERE STILL IN SOLID INST METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS; AND STATED THIS TO THE CTLR. HE SEEMED AS SURPRISED THAT WE WERE STILL IMC AT THIS POINT. HE ISSUED A FURTHER DSCNT FOR US AND EXPLAINED THAT HE WOULD BE GIVING US FURTHER VECTORS THROUGH THE FINAL APCH COURSE AS WE DSNDED UNTIL WE HAD THE ARPT IN SIGHT. AS WE BROKE OUT INTO VMC CONDITIONS DSNDING THROUGH ABOUT 3000 FT; ABOUT 8 NM E OF THE AIRFIELD AND S OF THE FINAL APCH COURSE; THE PF STATED THAT HE HAD THE DEST ARPT IN SIGHT. I INFORMED ATC AND WE WERE CLRED FOR THE VISUAL APCH AND TOLD TO CONTACT TWR. AFTER TUNING IN THE TWR FREQUENCY; AND PRIOR TO INITIATING CONTACT WITH THEM; I ADJUSTED THE GPS TO INDICATE A RTE DIRECT TO THE FINAL APCH FIX ON THE RNAV RWY 26 APCH. I STATED THIS TO THE PF AND HE ACKNOWLEDGED HIS UNDERSTANDING OF THIS. AS I CHKED IN WITH THE TWR CTLR; I STATED THAT WE WERE ESTABLISHED ON L BASE VISUAL FOR RWY 26. IN HINDSIGHT; THIS MAY HAVE BEEN A MISLEADING DESCRIPTION OF OUR POS. WITH THE PF MANEUVERING TO BECOME ESTABLISHED ON THE FINAL APCH COURSE FOR THE RWY; WE DETERMINED OUR POS MORE IN RELATION TO OUR ORIENTATION TO RWY HDG WITHOUT ENOUGH THOUGHT ABOUT OUR DISTANCE (ABOUT 6 NM) FROM THE ARPT. AT THIS TIME; THE TWR CTLR SEEMED UNCLR AS TO OUR LOCATION AND WITH OTHER TFC APCHING; ASKED US TO RESTATE OUR POS. AT THIS TIME; THE PF IDENTED OTHER TFC AHEAD AND ABOVE AND DETERMINED THAT IT WAS PRUDENT TO DEVIATE N OF THE FINAL APCH COURSE. THE CTLR QUESTIONED AS TO WHETHER WE DID IN FACT HAVE THE ARPT IN SIGHT; AND I RESPONDED THAT WE DID; BUT THAT WE WERE DEVIATING FOR TFC. I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THERE WAS EVER ANY TRUE THREAT OF COLLISION; AND THAT ANY DEV WAS MADE PURELY IN EXTREME CAUTION. MY INITIAL POS RPT WAS PROBABLY CONFUSING TO THE CTLR. I MAY HAVE ISSUED A BETTER RPT IF I HAD NOT BEEN SO CONSUMED WITH RELIANCE ON THE INSTS FOR REF TO OUR POS. INSTEAD; IF I REFED THE ARPT VISUALLY; AS THE PF WAS DOING; I WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE AWARE OF OUR POS IN REF TO THE ARPT. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 605649: WE SAW AN ARPT IN FRONT OF US AND ASSUMED IT WAS FXE; HOWEVER; IT WAS PMP. WE THEN CALLED THE ARPT IN SIGHT AND APCH CLRED US FOR THE VISUAL RWY 26 AT FXE. HOWEVER; WE WERE LINED UP FOR RWY 33 AT PMP. DSNDING THROUGH 1200 FT; WE REALIZED IT WAS THE WRONG ARPT AND MANEUVERED TO THE L FOR LNDG ON RWY 26 AT FXE. WHILE MANEUVERING; WE CAME WITHIN 500-700 FT OF ANOTHER ACFT BEING VECTORED FOR RWY 26 AT FXE. THE TWR CTLR AT FXE QUERIED IS AS TO WHAT WE WERE DOING AND WE LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT AT FXE. THIS PROB COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF WE HAD BETTER SITUATIONAL AWARENESS AND RELIED MORE ON OUR GPS POSITIONING INSTEAD OF OUR INSTINCTS WHEN WE BROKE OUT OF THE CLOUDS.