SF340 FLT CREW MISIDENTIFIED THE ARPT AND ACCEPTED A VISUAL APCH. ATC QUERIED THE FLT CREW; AND THEY REALIZED THEY DID NOT HAVE THE ARPT IN SIGHT. THE FLT CREW THEN ACQUIRED THE ARPT VISUALLY AND ENTERED A VFR TFC PATTERN.
Synopsis
SF340 FLT CREW MISIDENTIFIED THE ARPT AND ACCEPTED A VISUAL APCH. ATC QUERIED THE FLT CREW; AND THEY REALIZED THEY DID NOT HAVE THE ARPT IN SIGHT. THE FLT CREW THEN ACQUIRED THE ARPT VISUALLY AND ENTERED A VFR TFC PATTERN.
Narrative
IT WAS MY FIRST DAY AS A NEW HIGH MINIMUMS CAPT AND I WAS PAIRED UP WITH A GREEN FO. WE WERE FLYING TO ZZZ. I WAS THE PF. ARTCC HANDED US OVER TO ZZZ APCH. APCH SAID TO EXPECT LOWER IN 10 MI. THE FMS ON THIS ACFT WAS DEFERRED; THE ZZZ VORTAC HAD A WEAK SIGNAL AND THE ILS XX WAS NOTAMED OTS. I BRIEFED MY FO ABOUT ALL OF THESE THINGS AND TOLD HIM SINCE THE FIELD WAS VFR WE WOULD GET A VISUAL APCH TO RWY XX. MY FO INFORMED ME THAT HE HAD NEVER BEEN TO ZZZ SO I TOLD HIM WHERE THE ARPT IS LOCATED IN RELATION TO THE SHORELINE AND THE MARINA. WE WERE APCHING THE ARPT OVER THE LAKE AND IT WAS VERY HAZY. APCH CLRED US DOWN TO 2300 FT AND SAID CALL THE ARPT IN SIGHT. I DID NOT SEE THE ARPT; BUT I DID SEE A MARINA AT MY 1 O'CLOCK POS. A MOMENT LATER; MY FO SAID HE SAW THE ARPT OFF TO HIS R. I STILL DID NOT SEE IT BECAUSE OF THE HAZE AND THE FACT THAT IT WAS ON HIS SIDE OF THE ACFT. HE TOLD ME AGAIN THAT HE HAD THE ARPT IN SIGHT. I THEN DECIDED TO LET HIM CALL IT TO ATC THINKING I WOULD SEE IT AS SOON AS I TURNED. ATC THEN CLRED US FOR THE VISUAL APCH TO RWY XX AND SAID TO ENTER ON A BASE LEG. I MAINTAINED MY ALT AND TOLD HIM I WAS NOT GOING TO DSND UNTIL I SAW THE ARPT. I SAW THE MARINA (THE WRONG ONE) AND TURNED S TO ENTER A BASE LEG FOR RWY XX. ONCE OVER THE SHORELINE; I LOOKED AND STILL DID NOT SEE THE ARPT. I ASKED THE FO WHERE AND WHAT HE WAS LOOKING AT. AT THIS POINT HE BECAME CONFUSED AND LOST HIS POSITIONAL AWARENESS. I LOOKED TO MY L AND SAW THE ARPT ABOUT 6 MI TO OUR E. I LOOKED AT THE WRONG MARINA. I WAS ABOUT TO CALL ATC WHEN THEY CALLED ME AND QUERIED US IF WE HAD THE ARPT BECAUSE WE WERE HDG S. I TOLD HIM THAT I DID AND ASKED IF WE COULD ENTER ON THE DOWNWIND INSTEAD OF ON A BASE. ATC SAID THAT WAS FINE AND CLRED US FOR THE VISUAL AGAIN -- THIS TIME ENTER ON THE DOWNWIND. WE ENTERED THE PATTERN AND LANDED WITHOUT ANY FURTHER PROBS. AFTER DEPLANING ALL OF THE PAX; I ASKED THE FO WHAT HE WAS LOOKING AT THAT HE HAD MISTAKEN FOR THE ARPT. HE WAS UNSURE ABOUT WHAT HE SAW. I EXPLAINED TO HIM THAT I ALSO LOOKED AT THE WRONG MARINA IN THE HAZE. I BELIEVE THERE ARE SEVERAL FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THIS EVENT. A NEW CAPT (FIRST DAY) PAIRED UP WITH A NEW FO. SEVERAL NAV EQUIP PROBS (FMS; ILS OTS; WEAK SIGNAL ON THE ZZZ VORTAC); HAZY CONDITIONS OVER THE LAKE; INACCURATELY IDENTING THE ARPT AND THE MARINA. CALLING THE FIELD IN SIGHT TOO SOON BEFORE BOTH PLTS COULD CLEARLY SEE IT. NEVER CALL THE ARPT IN SIGHT UNTIL BOTH PLTS CAN CLEARLY IDENT AND CONFIRM THAT THEY HAVE IT IN SIGHT. DO NOT PAIR UP HIGH MINIMUMS CAPT WITH GREEN FO.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.