Accident Details
A general aviation aircraft overran the departure end of the runway during landing rollout at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport on a dark night. The weather was visual meteorological conditions (VMC).
Air Traffic Control and Runway Lighting
DeKalb-Peachtree Airport is controlled until 2300 EST, after which the tower frequency is remoted to Atlanta Approach Control. The pilot misunderstood instructions from Atlanta Approach Control concerning runway lighting and selected a runway at the uncontrolled airport that was unlighted. This runway intersected a lighted runway (Runways 02 and 20). The pilot attempted a landing on Runway 16, aiming beyond what he believed were threshold lights. He never observed the runway numbers.
Landing and Overrun
Upon flaring for landing, the pilot lost visual reference with the runway environment. After touchdown, he retracted the flaps but did not brake heavily, thinking he had approximately 2500 feet remaining to stop. When the end of the runway appeared, he was unable to stop the aircraft, resulting in an overrun.
Post-Accident Findings
The day after the accident, the Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) for Runway 16 was found to be out of service. Runway 16 was unlighted at the time of the accident.