This is an excerpt from a report made to the Aviation Safety Reporting System. The narrative is written by the pilot, rather than FAA or NTSB officials. To maintain anonymity, many details, such as aircraft model or airport, are often scrubbed from the reports.
As I made the turn to line up for Runway XX, a landing aircraft passed below me in my direction. I called the Tower to confirm my landing position and they confirmed clear to land. When I stated I had close traffic they informed me I was lined up on the wrong runway.
I made a go around. After landing, I was asked to call the Tower on a possible pilot deviation. I made the call and we discussed what had happened.
After reviewing the radio traffic, it is clear I was distracted attempting to locate the traffic I was to follow and my failure to read back the new runway caused me to miss the Tower change and continue on my original assigned heading.
I need to improve my confirmation skills on the radio going forward to avoid confusion. Also confirm instructions or changes by writing them down. My fault, and by configuring the system differently I could have avoided a slice of Swiss cheese or two from lining up.
Primary Problem as determined by an ASRS analyst: Human Factors.
I wish there was more detail. I think it has been documented pretty well that last minute changes can easily lead to this type of error, where the pilot fails to realize something has been changed. A lot can depend on how the controller worded the change – was there a simple cleared to land 17L, or maybe something like xxxxx, runway changed, now cleared to land 17L? With an understanding that changes in the last minute have in the past caused problems, it would also be a good idea to be much more careful about read-backs. At this point, pilots shouldn’t be cutting short any read-backs, and I think controllers should request a read-back if they don’t get one, similar to what they are required to do with runway crossings.
At least, a honest report from pilot, recognizing his fault.
Missing the correct runway while in the pattern is a MAJOR loss of situational awareness. This pilot definitely needs to do a lot more pattern flying to get up to speed.