Date: 201601
Local time of day: 0001-0600
Location: ZZZ.Airport, US
Flight conditions: VMC
Light: Daylight
Aircraft: Medium Transport
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 121
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Passenger
Flight phase: Final Approach
Airspace: Class C ZZZ
ATC / advisory: Tower ZZZ
Reporter organization: Air Carrier
Reporter function: Captain; Pilot Not Flying
Reporter qualification: Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Human factors: Situational Awareness; Workload; Distraction; Confusion
Anomaly: Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Detector: Person Flight Crew
When detected: In-flight
Result: Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Flight Crew Executed Go Around / Missed Approach
Contributing factors: Human Factors; Airport
Primary problem: Human Factors

Narrative: I was the PM on a flight [to ZZZ]. After receiving vectors to the airport in ZZZ; and being placed on a Right Downwind; we were given a descent to 2500; and told to expect a short visual approach to Runway XYL. We had the airport in sight; and began to configure. The controller have us our short base vectors and cleared us for the visual. We were configured and stable by 1000 feet. I observed the localizer begin to come in; and observed the First Officer (FO) flying a comfortable; stable approach; so I focused my attention more outside than inside as we turned a tight base to final. Once on final; I resumed my inside scan and noticed that we appeared well below the glideslope; but visual cues outside appeared normal. I looked back outside as we descended through about 300 feet and noticed 'XYC' on the pavement. My FO noticed the numbers at the same time; and we realized we were lined up for the center runway. We executed a Go Around and followed tower instructions to climb to 3000 and turn to a 290 heading. Tower never made mention (presumably hadn't noticed) our error.The departure controller asked us the reason for the Go Around; and I felt (1) we were too busy at the moment to go into the full story and (2) it wasn't appropriate to broadcast our error over the frq; so I told him we were not stable. He apologized for the short approach; to which I assured him it wasn't his fault. A few minutes later; I did tell him we were lined up for the wrong runway; as I didn't feel it was appropriate to mislead him either.Threats: We were given a short visual approach to the left runway from a right downwind. The approach end of Runway XYC is about a mile closer than the approach end of Runway XYL; and from a relatively low; close in base leg; we did not see it; and mistook the Center for the Left. Errors: Obviously lining up on the Center runway instead of the Left runway was an error. Not recognizing the error sooner than 300 feet was part of the problem. We definitely had a confirmation bias when descending down final; as even though the GS was above us; we seemed to reason it away. The error was trapped; however; as we confirmed the correct runway by use of the runway markings.This was an eye-opening; one-off event for me. I've never lined up with the wrong runway in my 16 1/2 years here; and I've been to ZZZ countless times. In fact; we were doing this ZZZ turn after our ZZZ overnight the previous night. I consider myself VERY familiar with that airport; having gone there for a decade and a half. As the PM; I was obviously not as vigilant as was necessary to prevent such an error.




Synopsis: The Captain of a regional jet reported lining up on the wrong runway at an airport with multiple parallel runways. The error was discovered at approximately 300 feet above the ground and a missed approach was executed.