Narrative:

In good visual conditions; after receiving an unplanned-for clearance for the VOR/DME-B into dnl field; I mistook ags for dnl; overflew dnl on a southerly heading; and penetrated the ags class D without establishing the required communication with ags tower.first issue was that the dnl AWOS provided no advanced warning of which approach or runway was in use; nor would one expect it to. Ordinarily; that would not be an issue; as pilots flying into this normally uncontrolled field can choose his own runway and approach. In my mind; I had decided on the visual runway 29; given that the runway was better aligned than runway 23 with the strong gusty winds. I then cleared for an approach I had not planned on; nor had time to prepare for. Given the good visual conditions; I didn't worry too much about it; thinking I would easily locate the airport visually. And locate an airport visually; I did: the larger ags airport is easily distinguishable from surrounding countryside. Whereas the much smaller dnl; surrounded by neighborhoods; highways and a golf course; and directly under the nose of my aircraft; I just didn't see.contributing factors:1. Most of my professional flying career I have flown multi-crew; whereas this job is mostly single pilot; only occasionally supplemented with a copilot. Another pair of eyes (and brain) would have helped.2. I was recovering from a couple of days of food poisoning; and - whilst my head felt clear - my stomach still felt tender; and I therefore refrained from eating anything at lunch time. I may therefore have been mildly hypoglycemic.3. By the time we reached the augusta area I was feeling the pressure to rush; as the flight took considerably longer than expected; owing to much stronger than expected headwinds: 120kt headwinds; vs 88kt forecast; for an aircraft that flies at 275ktas.4. Like many; I suffer from the notion that; armed with an IFR GPS; it's impossible to miss one's destination.5. Having two airports; both lined up with the VOR/DME-B definitely contributed to the issue. I believe a note in the approach plate; warning of the possible confusion between ags and dnl airports; as I have seen in other approach plates would greatly help.I began to notice the runways at my chosen airfield did not line up with 5-23 or 11-29. Dnl's temporary tower repeatedly told me they didn't have me in sight. I saw an airplane taking off and making a hard left turn from what I now know was runway 35 at ags. At that point; I realized then that something was wrong; and I believe so did dnl tower.realizing I would soon encroach on ags's traffic pattern; I applied power and climbed to 2500 feet MSL. Dnl tower and I agreed that canceling IFR; squawking 1200 and contacting ags approach for vectors back was the best course of action; which I did. The rest of the flight proceeded uneventfully.good VFR and a good GPS allowed me to drop my guard; thinking this would be a cinch. Upon realizing my mistake; I probably should have flown the published missed approach; but I had no idea what the missed approach procedure was. Given the weather; I didn't conceive ever using it and therefore; I didn't make time to review the procedure by requesting delay-vectors.factors affecting quality of human performance: tired due lack of food; as I'd only had one egg for lunch; owing to my having skipped buying any food on account of my tender stomach. Tired due to lack of water; the long flight had made me reluctant to drink too much water; since I didn't want to have to relieve myself in the pilot's relief tube; which I've never used. Feeling rushed; due to the unexpectedly long flight. Feeling rather complacent; after having correctly planned the flight to avoid a line of weather that would have beset us the entire length of the flight; had I had planned a more direct route.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: GA pilot reported that he mistook a neighboring airport for his destination resulting in an airspace violation.

Narrative: In good visual conditions; after receiving an unplanned-for clearance for the VOR/DME-B into DNL field; I mistook AGS for DNL; overflew DNL on a southerly heading; and penetrated the AGS Class D without establishing the required communication with AGS tower.First issue was that the DNL AWOS provided no advanced warning of which approach or runway was in use; nor would one expect it to. Ordinarily; that would not be an issue; as pilots flying into this normally uncontrolled field can choose his own runway and approach. In my mind; I had decided on the Visual Runway 29; given that the runway was better aligned than Runway 23 with the strong gusty winds. I then cleared for an approach I had not planned on; nor had time to prepare for. Given the good visual conditions; I didn't worry too much about it; thinking I would easily locate the airport visually. And locate an airport visually; I did: the larger AGS airport is easily distinguishable from surrounding countryside. Whereas the much smaller DNL; surrounded by neighborhoods; highways and a golf course; and directly under the nose of my aircraft; I just didn't see.CONTRIBUTING FACTORS:1. Most of my professional flying career I have flown multi-crew; whereas this job is mostly single pilot; only occasionally supplemented with a copilot. Another pair of eyes (and brain) would have helped.2. I was recovering from a couple of days of food poisoning; and - whilst my head felt clear - my stomach still felt tender; and I therefore refrained from eating anything at lunch time. I may therefore have been mildly hypoglycemic.3. By the time we reached the Augusta area I was feeling the pressure to rush; as the flight took considerably longer than expected; owing to much stronger than expected headwinds: 120kt headwinds; vs 88kt forecast; for an aircraft that flies at 275ktas.4. Like many; I suffer from the notion that; armed with an IFR GPS; it's impossible to miss one's destination.5. Having two airports; both lined up with the VOR/DME-B definitely contributed to the issue. I believe a note in the approach plate; warning of the possible confusion between AGS and DNL airports; as I have seen in other approach plates would greatly help.I began to notice the runways at my chosen airfield did not line up with 5-23 or 11-29. DNL's temporary tower repeatedly told me they didn't have me in sight. I saw an airplane taking off and making a hard left turn from what I now know was Runway 35 at AGS. At that point; I realized then that something was wrong; and I believe so did DNL tower.Realizing I would soon encroach on AGS's traffic pattern; I applied power and climbed to 2500 feet MSL. DNL tower and I agreed that canceling IFR; squawking 1200 and contacting AGS approach for vectors back was the best course of action; which I did. The rest of the flight proceeded uneventfully.Good VFR and a good GPS allowed me to drop my guard; thinking this would be a cinch. Upon realizing my mistake; I probably should have flown the published missed approach; but I had no idea what the missed approach procedure was. Given the weather; I didn't conceive ever using it and therefore; I didn't make time to review the procedure by requesting delay-vectors.Factors affecting quality of human performance: Tired due lack of food; as I'd only had one egg for lunch; owing to my having skipped buying any food on account of my tender stomach. Tired due to lack of water; the long flight had made me reluctant to drink too much water; since I didn't want to have to relieve myself in the pilot's relief tube; which I've never used. Feeling rushed; due to the unexpectedly long flight. Feeling rather complacent; after having correctly planned the flight to avoid a line of weather that would have beset us the entire length of the flight; had I had planned a more direct route.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.