Narrative:

This was an IFR air taxi flight to bpk, ar. 6 passenger, 2 type rated, ATP pilots. Because WX was clear, we planned a visual approach. Runway at planned destination was runway 5/23 and 5000 ft. About 15 mi out, the captain and I spotted the airport. About 4 mi from the airport, we canceled IFR and entered a left downwind. We were focused on maintaining sufficient clearance with some very high ridges on downwind/base. We landed, at what turned out to be flippen, ar, runway 4/22, 4120 ft. The first clue, on fairly short final, was that the FBO ramp was midfield, instead of northeast. The destination airport was in fact 7.5 NM northeast of where we landed. Both airports are uncontrolled. Neither the captain nor I realized that the flippen, ar, airport was so similar to that of mountain home, ar. We had no reason to review the flippen charts, since we had not intended to land there. We did, however, review the mountain home chart prior to flight. 2 things caused this mistake. 1) we focused on the first 'correct appearing' airport we saw, without further confirmation. Our assumption that we were at the correct airport 'fixated' our attention on landing. 2) we were distraction near the airport by the high ridges nearby. By the time I took a critical look at the airport, we were past the ridges on short final, and at that point a landing from a stabilized approach was safer than an unplanned, hurried go around from low altitude, even though I was beginning to have misgivings about our location.

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: FALCON 10 FLC LANDS AT WRONG ARPT 7 PT 5 MI FROM CORRECT ARPT. PART 135 AIR TAXI OP. IFR FLT PLAN HAD BEEN CANCELED AND VISUAL APCH IN USE.

Narrative: THIS WAS AN IFR AIR TAXI FLT TO BPK, AR. 6 PAX, 2 TYPE RATED, ATP PLTS. BECAUSE WX WAS CLR, WE PLANNED A VISUAL APCH. RWY AT PLANNED DEST WAS RWY 5/23 AND 5000 FT. ABOUT 15 MI OUT, THE CAPT AND I SPOTTED THE ARPT. ABOUT 4 MI FROM THE ARPT, WE CANCELED IFR AND ENTERED A L DOWNWIND. WE WERE FOCUSED ON MAINTAINING SUFFICIENT CLRNC WITH SOME VERY HIGH RIDGES ON DOWNWIND/BASE. WE LANDED, AT WHAT TURNED OUT TO BE FLIPPEN, AR, RWY 4/22, 4120 FT. THE FIRST CLUE, ON FAIRLY SHORT FINAL, WAS THAT THE FBO RAMP WAS MIDFIELD, INSTEAD OF NE. THE DEST ARPT WAS IN FACT 7.5 NM NE OF WHERE WE LANDED. BOTH ARPTS ARE UNCTLED. NEITHER THE CAPT NOR I REALIZED THAT THE FLIPPEN, AR, ARPT WAS SO SIMILAR TO THAT OF MOUNTAIN HOME, AR. WE HAD NO REASON TO REVIEW THE FLIPPEN CHARTS, SINCE WE HAD NOT INTENDED TO LAND THERE. WE DID, HOWEVER, REVIEW THE MOUNTAIN HOME CHART PRIOR TO FLT. 2 THINGS CAUSED THIS MISTAKE. 1) WE FOCUSED ON THE FIRST 'CORRECT APPEARING' ARPT WE SAW, WITHOUT FURTHER CONFIRMATION. OUR ASSUMPTION THAT WE WERE AT THE CORRECT ARPT 'FIXATED' OUR ATTN ON LNDG. 2) WE WERE DISTR NEAR THE ARPT BY THE HIGH RIDGES NEARBY. BY THE TIME I TOOK A CRITICAL LOOK AT THE ARPT, WE WERE PAST THE RIDGES ON SHORT FINAL, AND AT THAT POINT A LNDG FROM A STABILIZED APCH WAS SAFER THAN AN UNPLANNED, HURRIED GAR FROM LOW ALT, EVEN THOUGH I WAS BEGINNING TO HAVE MISGIVINGS ABOUT OUR LOCATION.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.