SMA ON PAR APCH SIGHTS BLINKING RED LIGHT ON RWY. QUERIES CTLR; CLRED TO LAND. RED LIGHT MOVES; EXECUTES GAR.

Narrative

NAVY FLYING CLUB WAS RETURNING TO HOME BASE AT NAS NORFOLK AFTER ROUND ROBIN IFR TRAINING FLT TO RICHMOND; VA; AREA. VECTORED ONTO PAR RWY 28 FINAL; HANDED OFF TO PAR FINAL CTLR AND COMMENCED APCH FOR A FULL STOP LNDG. NIGHT AND VMC PREVAILS; EXCELLENT VISIBILITY. STUDENT FLEW ABOVE AVERAGE PAR APCH AND ACKNOWLEDGED LNDG CLRNC FROM RADAR CTLR. ACFT ARRIVES AT DECISION HT (DH) AND RADAR CTLR CONTINUES LINE-UP AND GS ADVISORY CALLS. JUST BEFORE XING RWY; I (CFI AND SAFETY PLT) SEE DIM RED BLINKING LIGHT SLIGHTLY OFFSET FROM RWY CTRLINE LIGHTS ABOUT 1500 FT DOWN FROM RWY DISPLACED THRESHOLD. I QUERY RADAR CTLR ABOUT POSSIBLE ACFT/VEHICLE ON RWY AND RECEIVE ANOTHER LNDG CLRNC. RED BLINKING LIGHT BEGINS TO MOVE SLOWLY; SO I TAKE CTL OF ACFT FROM STUDENT (HE HAS HOOD OFF NOW) AND INITIATE GAR; ADVISING RADAR CTLR. TOLD TO SWITCH TO TWR. I ENTER L-HAND VFR PATTERN AND UNEVENTFUL LNDG OCCURS. AFTER LNDG; I CALL TWR SUPVR AND AM TOLD ANOTHER FLYING CLUB ACFT WAS CONDUCTING NIGHT STOP AND GO LNDGS UNDER TWR LCL CTL. RADAR CTLR WAS NOT AWARE OF THIS. FAILURE TO PASS THE WORD. INCIDENT REINFORCES LAX INCIDENT LESSON: ACFT HOLDING AT NIGHT ON RWY WITH CTRLINE LIGHTS EXTREMELY HARD TO SEE. ALSO IN PAR APCH PLT STAYS WITH RADAR CTLR THROUGH LNDG SO PLT MAY NOT BE AWARE OF ACFT IN VFR LNDG PATTERN.