VGT has one set of staggered (at both ends) parallel runways (12/30 L/R) and one crosswind runway (7/25) that intersects runway 12R/30L. It is primarily used by general aviation aircraft for flight training. The entire movement area to include runways and infields are one color and blend in very well with the desert terrain making it very difficult for pilots to identify the parallel runways, which are less than 700 feet apart. There are mountain ridges surrounding the airport and when aircraft drop below the ridgeline they are visually lost in ground clutter; combine that with the optical restraints associated with the angle air traffic controllers (ATC) have, and it is very difficult for ATC to identify when an aircraft is lined up with the wrong runway.

Since Jan 28, 2017, until the last week, VGT experienced a total of nine reported wrong surface events. Between Jan 20, 2022, and Jan 24, 2022, three additional wrong surface landings (WSL) have occurred at the airport. This rash of WSL events, along with the anticipated increase of transient traffic expected to begin Feb 4, 2022 for the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl, brings concern and desire for additional mitigations to be put in to place to restrain WSLs. We recommend all pilots that plan to fly into VGT watch the following short YouTube videos and review the VGT airport diagram in detail before departing to avoid making this costly mistake.

From the Flight Deck - North Las Vegas Airport (VGT) - YouTube
From the Flight Deck - Wrong Surface Landings - YouTube