Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 9.9; Flight Crew Total 222.7; Flight Crew Type 137.1
Confusion; Distraction
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Airspace Violation All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Landing Without Clearance
Air Traffic Control Issued Advisory / Alert; Flight Crew Returned To Departure Airport; Flight Crew Became Reoriented
Human Factors; Aircraft
Departed T41 (LaPorte Municipal) on rwy 23 for VFR flight. This was only my second time departing on this runway. Northbound; approaching INNIS intersection I noticed a very high EGT reading for the #3 cylinder (aircraft was less than 10 hours out of annual where the #4 cylinder was replaced). Oil Temperature was normal; mixture was rich the entire flight at 1700. Notified Houston approach that I would like to return to T41 and they provided vectors to the Fred Hartman bridge. During the return leg EGT returned to normal. I selected -D-> on my GPS and entered a previous waypoint (T41) and the extended centerlines appeared on the map. I notified ATC that I had the airport in sight and would be straight-in for runway 23 in case the engine decided to act up. I firmly had T41 in sight when I noticed the EGT gauge going high again. Odd because this was reduced power during the right base turn to rwy 23. While troubleshooting (head down and locked) I continued in a right turn and when I looked up; saw the runway straight ahead; but looking farther away than I remembered. About 3 miles out I noticed the PAPI was showing slightly low and the just slightly left of the MALSR. This should have been my first clue that something was wrong because T41 has neither of these lighting aids. As the EGT was still off-scale high I continued and landed smoothly. On rollout; I looked around and did not notice any familiar landmarks at T41 and then it hit me. I landed at the Wrong Airport! (EFD). So concerned was I about the high EGT that I got tunnel vision and saw what I wanted to see on approach (rwy 23 at LaPorte) instead of what was actually rwy 22 at Ellington Field (EFD). Halfway down the runway; contacted Ellington Ground where an upset controller said they had attempted light gun signals and callouts on 121.5. None of which I saw because I was expecting to land at an uncontrolled field with no tower and was tuned and announcing on 122.7 (T41 CTAF). Ground provided instructions to parking. I apologized for such a bone-headed move and I asked if I needed to call or visit the tower and the controller said 'no need' and informed me that this has happened before because of the similar runway alignments and the close spacing between the two airports. Also; as it turned out; when I selected the 'previous waypoint' on my GPS; it in actuality was EFD instead of T41 and the extended centerline fooled me into thinking it was LaPorte rwy 23. Was provided clearance to return to LaPorte by ATC and landed safely on rwy 23. Upon deplaning; found EGT probe for the #3 cylinder was loose.Error: Busted EFD airspace and landed on EFD rwy 22 without a clearance. Lessons learned: During arrival around the pattern; head outside and on a swivel; not attempting to diagnose and repair something that clearly cannot be fixed airborne. I was so fixated on the high EGT that tunnel vision and 'get-there-itis' set in and convinced me the the EFD rwy 22 was actually T41 rwy 23. I seldom use runway 23 at LaPorte and had not yet acquired a good sight picture for the approach to that runway. Be extra-vigilant when landing on unfamiliar runways and always question your sight picture on approach to make sure you have the correct airport.
General aviation pilot reports landing at the wrong airport after a high EGT reading causes him to turn back to T41. The GPS is misprogrammed for EFD instead of T41 and between troubleshooting and maneuvering the reporter ends up landing on Runway 22 at EFD instead of Runway 23 at T41. The high EGT indication was found to be a false indication due to a loose EGT probe.