Interesting approach snafu.

I saw an approach mistake the other day that I've never seen before. We
were flying the VOR-A @ 12N (http://204.108.4.16/d-tpp/0503/05026VA.PDF)
and were a little off course (in good VFR conditions). My student looked
up at about the right time, saw a runway, and went for it. Unfortunately,
it was the wrong airport. 3N5 (http://www.airnav.com/airport/3N5) is all
of 1.5 miles away from 12N, and they both have a single runway of
approximately the same size and orientation (the both even have a lake at
the end of the runway).

Fortunately, he was on the ball enough to notice it had a big "6" painted
on the end instead of a "3". I wonder how many of us would be alert enough
to notice the same thing when we broke out at minimums?

On 2005-04-10, Roy Smith wrote:
I saw an approach mistake the other day that I've never seen before. We
were flying the VOR-A @ 12N (http://204.108.4.16/d-tpp/0503/05026VA.PDF)
and were a little off course (in good VFR conditions). My student looked
up at about the right time, saw a runway, and went for it. Unfortunately,
it was the wrong airport.

Until you pointed it out I had not noticed that the government charts
don't depict nearby airports on approach plates. The Jepp plates have
light gray airport symbols for anything you might see along the approach.
It'd be interesting to see the Jepp plate for 12N.

--
Ben Jackson

http://www.ben.com/

"Ben Jackson" wrote in message
...

Until you pointed it out I had not noticed that the government charts
don't depict nearby airports on approach plates.


Sometimes they do.

http://map.aeroplanner.com/plates/Fa...fs/05145I3.PDF

Ben Jackson wrote:

It'd be interesting to see the Jepp plate for 12N.

Didn't spend any time doing this and I just scanned the pertinent section.
I apologize for the JPG width:

http://home.twcny.rr.com/thericcs1/backup/plate.jpg



--
Peter













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Roy Smith wrote:

I saw an approach mistake the other day that I've never seen before. We
were flying the VOR-A @ 12N (http://204.108.4.16/d-tpp/0503/05026VA.PDF)
and were a little off course (in good VFR conditions). My student looked
up at about the right time, saw a runway, and went for it. Unfortunately,
it was the wrong airport. 3N5 (http://www.airnav.com/airport/3N5) is all
of 1.5 miles away from 12N, and they both have a single runway of
approximately the same size and orientation (the both even have a lake at
the end of the runway).

Fortunately, he was on the ball enough to notice it had a big "6" painted
on the end instead of a "3". I wonder how many of us would be alert enough
to notice the same thing when we broke out at minimums?


sounds like the commercial jet that landed at an AFB instead of the
intended airport.

You should have let him land (if it was an uncontrolled airport) and
then berate (sp?) the student thereby making you, the CFII, appear
just that smarter. ;-) ;-) Just joking. Just got back from my
IFR lesson. Went well. One or two more flights and time for my
checkride.

Gerald Sylvester

Honestly, I'm surprised you find this that unusual.
In my experience - which is little compared to many here - I have at least
read about enough of these types of cases that, even though I admit it's not
the FIRST thing I would think of, the possibility of sighting the wrong
airport is a real one.

I am often surprised to see how often two or more airports are situated within
a few miles of each other, and when I see it I do wonder how often pilots
break out and dive for the first one they see - though fortunately most
"wrong airport" scenarios do not end in any greater disaster than a bruised
ego.

G Faris

Invariably (about once a year, maybe less) a small aircraft headed
to FTG lands at DEN, 5 nm miles away, thinking it's FTG.

Now, DEN is Class B, has a tower ( BIG tower! ) parking lots that
are always full that strech for miles, lots of really big
aircraft, and that silly terminal with the white things sticking up.
Not to mention runways that are 150 ft. wide.

I'm astonished how they can be mistaken for each other.

We won't talk about the 737 flown by a major airline that almost
landed at FTG thinking it was DEN. Actually, wouldn't have been
much of a problem -- FTG runways are 8000x100.

In a previous article, Blanche said:
Invariably (about once a year, maybe less) a small aircraft headed
to FTG lands at DEN, 5 nm miles away, thinking it's FTG.

Now, DEN is Class B, has a tower ( BIG tower! ) parking lots that
are always full that strech for miles, lots of really big
aircraft, and that silly terminal with the white things sticking up.
Not to mention runways that are 150 ft. wide.

Back when I was a pretty new pilot, maybe 10 years ago, there was a
Canadian pilot with a freshly minted pilots license heading to Oshkosh who
landed at Pearson International in Toronto (CYYZ) thinking it was Brampton
Flying Club (CNC3). The Brampton airport is 12 miles from Pearson and has
two runways, 15/33 3500x75 and 8/26 2500x76. CYYZ has 4 runways, none of
them shorter than 9000 feet. Here's a piece of the VNC (VFR Navigation
Chart, like a US Sectional):
http://www.bramfly.com/airport/vfr_nav.htm


--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Bull**** makes the flowers grow and that's Beautiful.
-- Unknown, Principia Discordia

Roy Smith writes:

I saw an approach mistake the other day that I've never seen before.
We were flying the VOR-A @ 12N [...] My student looked up at about
the right time, saw a runway, and went for it. Unfortunately, it
was the wrong airport. 3N5 (http://www.airnav.com/airport/3N5) is
all of 1.5 miles away from 12N [...]

Is it worth contacting the NOAA to put a cautionary note about this
onto future revisions of the approach plate?


- FChE

wrote in message
...

Amen. I have heard a TRACON controller inform a pilot of a 727 for a
major airline that he was lined up for a military base about 15 miles
north of the major airport he was actually on a visual for.

"Nice catch", the pilot said, probably realizing at that moment that
the controller had just saved his job.

Rapid City and Ellsworth AFB.