B737-700 PIC ADMITS TO USING THE WRONG APCH PLATE FOR A NON PRECISION APCH; USING THE VOR A PLATE VERSUS THE ATC ASSIGNED VOR RWY 12R SIDESTEP FOR APCH TO SJC.

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ON FLT TO SJC; WE WERE APPROX 200 MI OUT WHEN I; PNF; GOT THE ATIS. THE WX SHOWED WIND OUT OF THE S GREATER THAN 10 KTS (NECESSITATING AN APCH TO RWY 12L. RWY 12L WAS CLOSED). WE LOOKED AT THE AVAILABLE APCHS AND FOUND THE VOR A AS THE MOST SUITABLE APCH (BOTH OF US MISSED THE VOR RWY 12R) SINCE THE ILS TO RWY 12R WAS NOTAM'ED OTS. WHEN WE CHKED ON WITH NORCAL APCH; WE WERE TOLD TO EXPECT THE VOR RWY 12R SIDESTEP; BUT WE BOTH REMEMBERED HAVING READ BACK THE VOR A. THERE WERE 2 PROBS WITH THE VOR A. THE CURRENT WX WAS BELOW MINIMUMS FOR THE VOR A; AND SINCE IT IS AN APCH TO ANY RWY; IT REQUIRES CIRCLING MINIMUMS. AGAIN; WE DIDN'T HAVE THE MINIMUMS FOR THE APCH; WE WERE LEGAL TO SHOOT IT. IT REQUIRED BOTH VISIBILITY AND CEILING. WHEN WE WERE CLRED FOR THE APCH; WE WERE CLRED FOR THE VOR RWY 12R SIDESTEP. WE STILL DIDN'T PICK UP ON OUR MISTAKE AND NEITHER DID APCH CTL WHEN WE READ BACK CLRED FOR VOR A! WE EXECUTED THE APCH; DIDN'T BREAK OUT AND EXECUTED THE MISSED APCH. DURING THE MISSED APCH; WE REALIZED OUR MISTAKE; REBRIEFED AND FLEW THE VOR RWY 12R SIDESTEP TO RWY 12L; BROKE OUT AND LANDED UNEVENTFULLY. LISTENING ON COMPANY FREQ; WE HEARD A COUPLE OF OTHER COMPANY ACFT MAKING THE SAME MISTAKE THAT WE DID; MISSING THE VOR RWY 12R SIDESTEP APCH IN THE STACK AND THINKING THAT THE VOR A WAS THE ONLY OPTION. THESE ACFT DID NOT MAKE THE SAME ERROR WE DID. THEY WERE HOLDING; WAITING FOR WX TO IMPROVE SO THAT THEY WOULD BE LEGAL FOR THE APCH. BOTH WERE COORDINATING WITH DISPATCH TO DIVERT TO SMF WHEN THE CAPT JUMPED ON THE FREQ AND ALERTED THEM TO FIND THE VOR RWY 12R APCH IN THEIR PLATES AND SHOOT THAT APCH. BOTH ACFT FLEW THE VOR RWY 12R SIDESTEP AND LANDED AT SJC VERSUS SMF. I DON'T KNOW WHY WE ALL MADE THE SAME MISTAKE; BUT MAYBE SOMEONE WITH MORE EXPERIENCE IN CAUSAL FACTORS MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIND OUT WHY WE ALL MADE THE SAME ERROR!