PLT OF BE24 SIERRA ON NIGHT FLT LANDS ON CLOSED RWY. HE DID NOT REQUEST NOTAMS.

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I AM ATTENDING A FLT SCHOOL AT ADDISON ARPT IN ADDISON DALLAS. ME AND A FRIEND OF MINE WERE GOING TO FLY DOWN TO FLORIDA SO THAT I COULD BUILD SOME XCOUNTRY EXPERIENCE. I STARTED THE DAY BY TAKING A WX BRIEF FOR OUR RTE FROM ADS TO SRQ. I DID THIS FOR ACFT BEECHCRAFT SIERRA C24R. THE WX ALONG THE RTE WAS VFR AND IT WAS FORECAST TO STAY THAT WAY THE REST OF THE DAY AND THE REST OF THE NIGHT. WE WENT DOWN TO THE FLT SCHOOL AND CALCULATED FLT PLANS AT DIFFERENT RTES AND ALTS. WE DID THIS ON THE DUATS AND THIS GAVE US THE DISTANCE; TIME AND FUEL CONSUMPTION. WE CHKED THE WX AGAIN AND FINISHED OUR FLT PLANNING AND PREFLT. AT THE RAMP BEFORE WE LEFT; WE MET ANOTHER PLT FROM THE SCHOOL WHO TOLD US THAT 0R9 HAD A 24 HR SELF SVC WITH CHEAP FUEL. HE SHOWED US WHERE IT WAS LOCATED AND IT WAS CLOSE TO BATON ROUGE WHERE WE FIRST HAD PLANNED TO STOP FOR FUEL. WE DECIDED TO CONTACT THE FSS TO GET A NEW BRIEFING ONCE AIRBORNE. DEPARTING ADS I REQUESTED VFR FLT FOLLOWING TO 0R9. AFTER WE WERE CLRED OUT OF DALLAS CLASS B AIRSPACE AND THE RADIO FREQ WASN'T AS BUSY; I REQUESTED FREQ CHANGE TO GET A WX UPDATE. I TRIED TO CONTACT FORT WORTH RADIO ON 122.30. THIS WAS CLOSE TO TYR ARPT. THERE WAS NO ANSWER; SO I TRIED FLT WATCH ON 122.00 INSTEAD. I TALKED TO THE WX BRIEFER AND ASKED FOR THE CURRENT CONDITION ENRTE AND AT 0R9. I WAS NOT ADVISED OF ANY NOTAMS FOR 0R9. ALWAYS WHEN YOU GET A WX BRIEF FROM THE FSS THEY GIVE YOU THE NOTAMS. I DID NOT KNOW THAT FLT WATCH DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE NOTAMS. WE CONTINUED UNDER RADAR COVERAGE THE REST OF THE WAY TO 0R9. ALONG THE RTE WE MADE US FAMILIAR WITH THE 0R9 BY LOOKING IN THE ARPT FACILITY DIRECTORY AND ALSO MY GOV PLATES FOR 0R9. NOW WE WERE FAMILIAR WITH THE ARPT; THE RWY LENGTHS; WIDTHS; ARPT ELEVATION; COM FACILITIES. I THOUGHT THAT I HAD DONE A THOROUGH PREFLT PREPARATION. WHEN NEW ORLEANS APCH HANDED US OFF 10 NM NW OF 0R9; BOTH RWY 18/36 AND RWY 13/31 WERE LIT UP AND WE HAD THEM IN SIGHT. SHE ALSO TOLD US THAT THERE WAS NO OTHER TFC BTWN USAND THE ARPT. WE USED THE TERMINAL VOR ON FREQ 109.60 TO TRACK TO THE ARPT AND WE ALSO MONITORED THE AWOS ON IT. IT GAVE US THE WIND CALM NOTIFICATION. WE THEN ASKED FOR TA ON CTAF 123.00 TO MAKE SURE THERE WAS NO OTHER TFC IN THE VICINITY. WE MADE OUR TFC CALLS AND CIRCLED AROUND THE ARPT TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE LAYOUT. WE THEN CLICKED THE MIKE TO GET MORE INTENSE LIGHT AND THE MALSR CAME ON. WITH THE BETTER LIGHTS AND THE FACT THAT THIS RWY WAS WIDER; I CHOSE RWY 18. THE X MARKING IN THE ENDS OF THE RWY WHICH WERE MADE OF 2 YELLOW PIECES OF PLASTIC CURTAIN HELD DOWN BY SALT OR SAND BAGS WERE IMPOSSIBLE TO SPOT FROM THE AIR AT NIGHT; EVEN THOUGH THE WX WAS CLR; CALM AND WITH VERY GOOD VISIBILITY. PROBABLY 10-20 NM. IF THE X MARKING WOULD HAVE BEEN ILLUMINATED OR MADE OF FLUORESCENT PAINT THIS WOULD PROBABLY NEVER HAVE HAPPENED. I THOUGHT THAT THE PURPOSE OF THE X MARKING WAS SO THAT PLTS COULD SEE FROM THE AIR THAT THE RWY WAS CLOSED. JUST BECAUSE IT IS DARK PLTS DON'T STOP FLYING. THESE INCIDENTS COULD EASILY BE PREVENTED BY ILLUMINATING THE X MARKINGS. WHEN I CAME IN ON THE APCH TO RWY 18 I CHOSE TO STAY A LITTLE BIT HIGHER DUE TO THE FACT THAT I WAS UNFAMILIAR WITH THE TERRAIN AND THE RWY WAS 5001 FT LONG. THIS RWY IS NOT SERVED BY A VASI OR A PAPI; IT WAS AT NIGHT AND THEREFORE IT SEEMED SAFEST TO FLY THE APCH THE WAY I DID IT. WHEN I WAS ON THE FINAL FOR RWY 18 THE LIGHTS WERE IN MY EYES AND IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE ANYTHING AT THE FIRST PART OF THE RWY. WHEN I PASSED THE LIGHTS AND HAD BETTER VISIBILITY I WAS ALREADY OVER THE X MARKING. AFTER PASSING THE GREEN ILLUMINATED THRESHOLD LIGHTS THE LNDG WAS SMOOTH. WE SLOWED DOWN BUT KEPT SOME OF THE SPD TO TAXI OFF THE RWY AT THE TXWY WHICH WAS LOCATED ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE XING RWY. SUDDENLY WE SAW A DULL; (WHICH WE LATER FOUND OUT WAS DUE TO WEAK BATTERIES); ORANGE BLINKING LIGHT APPROX 30 OR 40 FT IN FRONT OF US. IT WAS A WOOD BARRICADE NOT HIGHER THAN A FOOT WITH 2 ORANGE LIGHTS AND 2 FLAGS. ITRIED TO MANEUVER AROUND TO THE RIGHT OF IT BUT HIT THE L MAIN GEAR. I HIT A SECOND BARRICADE 100 FT DOWN THE RWY BEFORE WE CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP. I ASKED MY PAX IF HE WAS ALL RIGHT; HE WAS FINE. WE WENT OUT OF THE PLANE TO LOOK AT THE DAMAGE. THE L MAIN GEAR WAS BENT BACKWARDS AND MADE A DENT IN THE L FLAP. WE THEN WENT BACK TO SEE IF THE RWY WAS X MARKED. ON THE WAY WE PICKED UP 2 BATTERIES AND THE GEAR DOOR WHICH WERE LAYING ON THE ACTIVE RWY 13/31 AND WERE A POTENTIAL HAZARD TO LNDG AIRPLANES. THE ARPT WAS CLOSED BUT WE MANAGED TO FIND A PHONE. I CALLED THE FSS AND FILED A RPT AND HE TOLD ME THAT HE WOULD CONTACT THE NECESSARY PEOPLE THAT NEEDED TO BE INVOLVED. I THEN CALLED FLT SCHOOL AND TOLD THEM WHAT HAD HAPPENED. AFTER A WHILE; HAMMOND CITY ADMINISTRATOR CAME AND THEN THE POLICE AND THE FIREMEN CAME. I AM USED TO TALKING TO THE FSS AT FORT WORTH WHICH DOES A GREAT JOB. THEY ALWAYS GIVE ME ALL THE NOTAMS THAT WOULD AFFECT MY RTE WITHOUT ME HAVING TO ASK FOR THEM. SOMETHING THAT I WANT TO POINT OUT IS THAT WHEN WE WERE FILING AN IFR FLT PLAN TO GET BACK TO ADS WE CALLED DE RIDDER FSS TO GET A WX BRIEFING. WE SPECIALLY ASKED IF THERE WERE ANY NOTAMS. THE ANSWER WE RECEIVED WAS NO! THEN WE ASKED AGAIN BY SAYING: ARE YOU SURE BECAUSE RWY 18/36 IS CLOSED? HE WAITED A WHILE AND THEN HE SAID; YOU ARE RIGHT; RWY 18/36 IS CLOSED. THE DAY AFTER THE INCIDENT THE POLICE THAT WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INVESTIGATION RECEIVED A STATEMENT FROM WHOEVER WAS IN CHARGE OF THE LIGHT SYS AT THE ARPT. HE STATED THAT HE HAD NOT RECEIVED ANY INSTRUCTIONS THAT THE LIGHTS AT THE CLOSED RWY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE TURNED OFF. THIS IS TO ME AN ADMITTANCE THAT A MISTAKE HAD BEEN MADE AND THAT THE LIGHTS SHOULD HAVE BEEN TURNED OFF. THIS WOULD FOR SURE HAVE PREVENTED THE INCIDENT. I KNOW THAT THIS INCIDENT COULD VERY EASILY HAVE BEEN PREVENTED IF THE RWY LIGHTS WERE TURNED OFF OR THE X MARKING WERE ILLUMINATED OR AT LEAST FLUORESCENT. OR SUCH AN EASY THING AS TO RECORD IT ON THE AWOS.