What happened
During a night flight under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), the pilot arrived at an uncontrolled destination airport. Upon making a visual approach, the pilot observed that the airfield lights appeared different than usual. In response to this observation, the pilot initiated a go-around and commenced a second approach.
Late in the second approach, the pilot realized the aircraft was about to land in a culvert. Although the pilot applied full power in an attempt to recover, the aircraft was unable to avoid a collision with the terrain. The impact occurred between the runway and a parallel taxiway.
At the time of the accident, the Non-Directional Beacon (NDB) and rotating beacon were operational. However, the runway had been closed for construction since July 19, 1988, and the runway lights were not illuminated during the attempted landing in dark night VFR conditions. While a NOTAM regarding the runway closure had been issued, the pilot did not specify this destination airport during the weather briefing, and therefore did not receive the information.