Accident Overview
On November 30, 2017, at about 2301 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172 airplane, registration N537HF, impacted taxiway lights after landing in the grass south of runway 9L at Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport (TMB), Miami, Florida. The private pilot and sole passenger sustained no injuries, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The flight was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a visual flight rules personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight had departed TMB about 2230 for a local area flight.
Pilot Account
According to the pilot, while approaching TMB, he was issued a landing clearance by the air traffic control tower to land on runway 9L. The pilot stated that when entering the traffic pattern, he heard the tower controller state that the tower was closing. After turning onto the final segment of the traffic pattern and seeing the runway numbers, the tower controller said good night over the frequency just prior to the runway lights extinguishing. The pilot then lost sight of the runway but still saw blue taxiway lights to the right of the airplane. He continued for landing and after touching down impacted an object on what he perceived as the runway. When he exited the aircraft to investigate, he realized he had landed in the grass and had impacted a taxiway light, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing and lift strut.
Airport and Lighting Information
The Airport Facilities Directory states that the tower at TMB is only open from 0700 EST to 2300 EST. When the tower is closed, high intensity runway lighting is available only for runway 9R/27L and is controlled by the pilot on frequency 118.9 (the tower frequency). To manually control the runway lights, the pilot would have to click the microphone seven times for maximum intensity, five times for medium intensity, and three times for low intensity. At TMB, when the tower is closed, there are no runway lights available for runway 9L, but all taxiway lights are illuminated and controlled in conjunction with the runway 9R lights. The pilot did not state that he activated the pilot-controlled lighting prior to touching down.
Tower Communication Timeline
A memorandum from the Air Traffic Manager at TMB tower includes the following times converted to local:
- 22:52:55 N537HF made initial contact with the tower, advising they were 10 miles east and inbound for landing.
- 22:53:12 Pre-closing statement made as per the closing checklist.
- 22:55:55 Local controller begins closing statement. N537HF was on a 2-mile base to final.
- 23:01:38 Last radar target of N537HF.
A review of the airfield lighting logs showed the lights were on and transitioned to pilot-controlled lighting at 23:06:50.
Aircraft and Meteorological Conditions
The pilot stated there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The closest official weather observation station is TMB. At 2253, a METAR reported, in part: wind 010° at 6 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; clouds and ceiling clear; temperature 70°F; dew point 64°F; altimeter 30.05 inches of mercury.