BEECH KINGAIR 200 FLT CREW DOES VISUAL APCH TO WRONG ARPT.
Synopsis
BEECH KINGAIR 200 FLT CREW DOES VISUAL APCH TO WRONG ARPT.
Narrative
WHILE CONDUCTING A PRACTICE VOR OR GPS-A INST APCH TO SDM IN VFR CONDITIONS AT NIGHT WE MISTOOK THE RWY AT TIJUANA FOR THE RWY AT SDM. NEITHER MYSELF OR THE STUDENT; WHO IS A 2000 HR INST RATED COMMERCIAL PLT; HAD FLOWN THERE BEFORE AND WE WERE IN A TURBOPROP AIRPLANE THAT HAD A FAIRLY FAST APCH/MANEUVERING SPD. THE APCH WENT WELL ENOUGH TO THE VORTAC; WHICH IS THE MISSED APCH POINT; 2.3 NM N OF THE RWY; OR THE POINT TO CONTINUE VISUALLY. WE WANTED TO DO A FULL STOP LNDG AND THE TWR CTLR INSTRUCTED US TO CONTINUE TOWARDS THE ARPT AND TO CALL THE ARPT IN SIGHT. AT ABOUT A MI N OF THE ARPT THE TWR CTLR ASKED IF WE HAD THE RWY IN SIGHT. WE DID NOT; BUT I DID SEE A ROTATING BEACON. (I KEPT MY LOOK OUTSIDE WHILE THE STUDENT DIVIDED HIS ATTN BTWN FLYING THE INSTS AND LOOKING VISUALLY.) UPON RPTING THAT WE DID NOT HAVE THE RWY IN SIGHT THE CTLR INSTRUCTED US TO TURN DOWNWIND AND KEEP THE PATTERN TIGHT; AND AGAIN; RPT THE RWY. WE FLEW THE DOWNWIND LOOKING FOR THE RWY WHILE THE TWR CTLR HANDLED ANOTHER ACFT. THE CTLR CALLED FOR US TO TURN BASE AND I CONTINUED TO LOOK FOR THE RWY IN THE VICINITY OF THE ROTATING BEACON. AS WE NEARED THE BEACON WE SAW THE OUTLINE OF RWY LIGHTS THAT WERE IN THE PROPER ORIENTATION (GENERALLY) AND WE TURNED FINAL. ABOUT THAT TIME THE TWR CTLR INQUIRED ABOUT OUR LNDG LIGHTS TO WHICH WE REPLIED THEY WERE ON AND WE WERE TURNING FINAL AND AS I RECALL; HE CLRED US TO LAND. IT TOOK THE CTLR A MOMENT BUT HE REALIZED WE WERE ON SHORT FINAL TO TIJUANA! CLRLY HE WAS ANXIOUS ABOUT US BEING THERE AS HE HAD A BIT OF TROUBLE GETTING HIS WORDS OUT; BUT QUICK ENOUGH HE MANAGED TO GET THE WORDS OUT THAT WE WERE ON FINAL FOR THE TIJUANA ARPT. THAT PUT A DOUBLE DOSE OF ANXIETY IN THE AIRPLANE (NOTHING AGAINST TIJUANA) AND I IMMEDIATELY CALLED FOR A GAR AND A TURN TO THE N. WITH THE CTLR'S ASSISTANCE WE THEN HAD NO TROUBLE IDENTING THE SDM RWY. AT THAT POINT A NORMAL LNDG OCCURRED AT THE PROPER ARPT.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.