It doesn't happen often, but it does happen from time to time: Pilots accidentally land a passenger plane at the wrong airport. That's exactly what almost happened on November 14, 2023 on a Latam-Brazil flight that was supposed to go to San Jose Do Rio Preto. 

Under the flight number LA4640, the Airbus A320 with the registration PR-MHM was on its way from Sao Paulo (Guarulhos) to Sao Jose Do Rio Preto. At first it looked like a routine flight because there were nothing unusual until the landing approach. However, something went wrong because, according to official information, the pilots received an error message that something was not working as it should with the GPS system. 

What followed was a bit like a soap opera, as the communication between the controller and the cockpit crew was rather suboptimal. The pilots used the tower frequency and communicated that they would use the procedure intended for these cases. However, the control tower did not feel responsible and referred to approach control on the grounds that the Airbus A320 was still too far away from the airport. The pilots complied and announced that they would now initiate a descent curve towards the airport. Again there was a request to change the frequency, but the pilots refused and explained that they were busy with the landing approach and were already in sight of the airport. 

But they didn't see “the airport” but rather “an airport” because it wasn't the one they were supposed to land at. In fact, the pilots headed for the small Catanduva airfield, which is located about 30 kilometers from the actual destination. The project had already progressed to such an extent that the Airbus A320 was at a low altitude. 

Now the controllers took action and urgently pointed out to the pilots that they were not on the approach to Sao Jose Airport, but that they were about to land at a small airfield. The energetic radio message must have set alarm bells ringing in the heads of the two pilots, because an immediate go-around maneuver was initiated at an altitude of only 1.000 feet. 

Only then were they willing to have appropriate communication with the responsible approach controller and use radar vectors to navigate to the airport, i.e. the actual destination. The plane landed safely and undamaged at San Jose Do Rio Preto Airport a few minutes later. Both the controllers and the pilots must now face questioning by the Civil Aviation Authority.