HS125 ON VISUAL APCH TO FRG LANDED ON WRONG RWY.

Date: 2004-04 · Aircraft: HS 125 Series

Anomalies: deviation-discrepancy-procedural-clearance|ground-incursion-runway

Synopsis

HS125 ON VISUAL APCH TO FRG LANDED ON WRONG RWY.

Narrative

WE WERE ON A FLT FROM PTK TO FRG. NEARING FRG; WE WERE GIVEN THE LINDY 7 ARR TO FRG. WE CROSSED OVER THE TOP OF JFK AT APPROX 15000 FT MSL. MY COPLT; WHO HAD FLOWN FOR A REGIONAL AIRLINE IN THIS AREA; ADVISED ME TO EXPECT A 'SLAM DUNK' APCH INTO FRG. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE GOT FROM NEW YORK APCH. WE HAD VISUAL CONTACT WITH FRG ABOUT 15 MI OUT; BUT WERE STILL AT AROUND 10000 FT MSL. THE COPLT DEPLOYED THE SPD BRAKES IN AN ATTEMPT TO SLOW DOWN AND GET DOWN. I SUGGESTED WE ALSO EXTEND THE LNDG GEAR; WHICH WE DID. ATIS HAD ADVISED US TO EXPECT A VISUAL APCH TO RWY 19 AND AFTER ADVISING ATC THAT WE HAD THE FIELD IN SIGHT; WE WERE CLRED FOR THE VISUAL RWY 19. WE PROGRAMMED THE FMS FOR A VISUAL APCH TO RWY 19. THIS GAVE US AN EXTENDED CTRLINE OF ABOUT 5 MI. I CONTACTED THE TWR AND ADVISED THEM WE WERE ON A HIGH R BASE FOR RWY 19. AT THIS TIME; WE HAD BOTH RWY 19 AND RWY 14 IN SIGHT. THE TWR CLRED US FOR THE VISUAL RWY 19. THE ACFT WAS STILL HIGH ON THE APCH AT THIS TIME. WE WERE ABLE TO SLOW THE ACFT WITH THE USE OF FULL FLAPS AND INTERCEPTED THE VASI AT ABOUT A 2 MI FINAL. JUST AS WE TOUCHED DOWN; I HEARD THE TWR ADVISE A HELI THAT AN ACFT HAD LANDED ON RWY 14 AND NOW HE WAS CLRED TO TRANSITION THE AREA. THAT'S WHEN I REALIZED WE HAD LANDED ON THE WRONG RWY. AFTER WE CLRED RWY 14; THE TWR QUERIED US AS TO WHAT APCH NEW YORK APCH HAD GIVEN US. WE ADVISED THEM: RWY 19. WHEN WE GOT TO THE FBO; I CALLED THE TWR AND APOLOGIZED FOR OUR SCREW-UP AND ASKED THEM IF WE NEEDED TO FILL OUT ANY TYPE OF INCIDENT RPT. THEY RESPONDED THAT THERE WAS NOT A PROB AND THAT NO RPT WAS NECESSARY. I BELIEVE THERE WERE 2 CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO THIS MISTAKE: 1) THIS WAS ONLY THE THIRD DAY BACK TO WORK FOR BOTH OF US AFTER EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME OFF. I HAD 10 DAYS OF VACATION PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT. THE CO-PLT HAD BEEN OFF FOR MOST OF THE MONTH DUE TO VACATION; ACFT RECURRENT TRAINING AND COMPANY RECURRENT. PERSONALLY; IT TAKES ME A FEW DAYS TO GET BACK INTO THE SWING OF THINGS AFTER BEING AWAY FROM ACTIVE FLYING FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD. 2) WE BOTH FIXATED ON BEING HIGH FOR THE APCH TO THE RWY. WE SAW A RWY AND WERE DETERMINED TO GET DOWN DIVERTING OUR ATTN FROM THE CORRECT RWY. HAD WE GLANCED AT THE FMS MFD DISPLAY IT WOULD HAVE SHOWN US WE WERE LINED UP ON THE WRONG RWY. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 616036: WE WERE THEN CLRED FOR THE VISUAL TO RWY 19. THIS WAS EXPECTED AND I HAD ALREADY BEGUN TO SLOW AND HAD FULL SPOILERS DEPLOYED GIVING US A 300 FPM DSCNT. THE FMS MAP ALSO INDICATED THAT WE WOULD BE AT TFC PATTERN ALT WHILE JOINING A 3-4 MI FINAL. I LOOKED OUT THE WINDOW AND SEE I AM STILL HIGH. I CALL FOR GEAR AND FLAPS ON SPEED. I JOIN THE FINAL AND SEE THAT I AM STILL HIGH; BUT AM NOT CONCERNED BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WE WILL HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO GET DOWN. AT ABOUT 1300-1000 FT AGL WE ARE STABILIZED; ON SPD; AND RED/WHITE ON THE VASI. WE THEN TOUCH DOWN ON RWY 14. I AM STILL VERY SURPRISED THAT THIS INCIDENT TOOK PLACE. WE HAD BOTH PREPARED FOR THE VISUAL TO RWY 19; HAD THE FMS WITH MAP SET UP FOR RWY 19; AND KNEW THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO START DOWN QUICKLY AS SOON AS WE WERE ALLOWED BY ATC. HOWEVER; ONCE WE SAW RWY 14; WE WERE CONVINCED THAT WAS OUR RWY. HAD EITHER ONE OF US LOOKED AT THE FMS WE WOULD HAVE SEEN OUR MISTAKE. UNFORTUNATELY WE WERE BOTH SO FOCUSED ON THE RWY WE NEVER RECHECKED THE FMS OR OUR INBOUND HDG.

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