GA SMA WRONG ARPT APCH LNDG AND GO AROUND AT A CONTROLLED ARPT WITHOUT CONTACTING THE TWR UNTIL IN THE AIR AFTER TOUCH AND GO. UNAUTH PENETRATION OF ARSA.
Synopsis
GA SMA WRONG ARPT APCH LNDG AND GO AROUND AT A CONTROLLED ARPT WITHOUT CONTACTING THE TWR UNTIL IN THE AIR AFTER TOUCH AND GO. UNAUTH PENETRATION OF ARSA.
Narrative
WHILE ON A FLT FROM HOMESTEAD AFB TO OPA LOCKA ARPT ON 7/88 I LANDED AT FLL. I DEPARTED HOMESTEAD AND FLEW OVERHEAD TAMIAMI ARPT AT ABOUT 1500' CONTACTING MIA RADIO ON 118.9. I THEN CONTACTED MY COMPANY ON A UHF RADIO TELLING THEM I WOULD BE SWITCHING TO OPA LOCKA ARPT FREQS. I WAS AT ABOUT 1200' W OF KROME AVE; A N-S ROAD WHICH IS A GOOD GEOGRAPHIC REF POINT TO STAY CLR OF THE MIA TCA. I NOTED PASSING MIA AND THEN TUNED TO OPA LOCKA ATIS FOLLOWED BY TWR. THIS WAS AFTER THE TWR WAS CLOSED BUT ACFT WERE CALLING IN NW OF OPA LOCKA WITH THEIR CALLS BEING MADE ON OPA LOCKA TWR FREQ. I TUNED IN THE ILS AT OPA LOCKA ON 110.5 JUST AS A BACK UP XCHKED THE POS OF MIA VOR WHICH WAS TO THE LEFT OF THE ACFT AS I EXPECTED IT WOULD BE AND THEN PICKED UP A SET OF VASI LIGHTS I THOUGHT TO BE OPA LOCKA RWY 9L. I PROCEEDED IN MAINLY WATCHING THE VASI MAKING CALLS ON 120.7 AND LANDED. UPON LNDG I SAW LGT ACFT ON THE GND AND SAW TWRS TO THE LEFT AND RECOGNIZED THE ARPT AS FLL. I DID A TOUCH AND GO AS I THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE THE SAFEST THING TO DO TO GET OUT OF THE AREA. AFTER LIFTOFF I CONTACTED TWR ON 119.3 AND TURNED SBND INFORMING THE TWR WHAT I HAD DONE AND THAT MY INTENTION WAS TO LAND AT OPA LOCKA ARPT. WHEN ON THE GND AT OPA LOCKA I CALLED FLL TWR AND THEY INFORMED ME THAT A WDB WAS SET AROUND. HE WAS LNDG FROM THE OPP DIRECTION RWY 27R. I WAS FLYING A TWIN SMT AT THE TIME. I WOULD LIKE TO NOTE THAT THE ILS FOR FLL WAS 110.7. WHILE I WAS NOT FLYING THE ILS I WAS USING IT AS A BACK UP. THE G/S FLAG WAS DISPLAYED BUT THE LOC WAS OFFSET 1/2 A BALL TO THE LEFT OF CENTERLINE. THIS IS AN INDICATION I WOULD EXPECT OF AN OPERATIONAL ILS. WHEN THE SIGNAL IS NO GOOD THE LOC IS NORMALLY CENTERED. THIS HELPED ME TO BELIEVE THIS WAS OPA LOCKA AND NOT FLL. ALTHOUGH I WAS DILIGENT I WAS NOT DILIGENT ENOUGH. I FEEL EVEN GREATER XCHKING IS NECESSARY TO AVOID THIS SITUATION IN THE FUTURE.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.