MD88 FLC DSNDS BELOW MVA APCHING AGS.

Narrative

FLT DEPARTED LATE. BY DEST ETA; FIELD WILL BE UNCTLED. FO FLYING. CAPT ON RADIOS. CAPT LONG TIME SINCE FLYING INTO UNCTLED FIELD. AFTER DEP FROM ATL; ZTL GAVE AGS WX AS 35 BROKEN; 6 TSTMS MIST 23/23/003 RWY 17 IN USE. ATC CLRED US DIRECT CARDO INTXN ABOUT 40 MI OUT. AFTER DSCNT TO 5000 FT; GAVE US 'CROSS CARDO AT 3000 FT; CLRED ILS RWY 17 APCH TO AGS.' A VERY LARGE LEVEL 3 ECHO PRESENT JUST W OF CARDO ON RADAR; SO AS WE APCHED CARDO WE ASKED IF WE COULD PASS CARDO AND REINTERCEPT LOC FROM THE E SIDE BTWN CARDO AND MASTY TO AVOID WX. ATC SAID 'APPROVED AS REQUESTED; RPT RE-ESTABLISHED ON ARR.' WX WASN'T AS BAD AS RPTED. VISIBILITY ALLOWED US TO SEE THE ARPT AND BEACON. CAPT WAS TALKING TO ATC AND MAKING POS CALLS ON CTAF AT THIS TIME. WE STAYED ON APPROX 100 DEG HDG FOR LESS THAN 1 MIN AND MADE OUR TURN ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE ECHO TO REINTERCEPT ABOVE MASTY. AS WE DID; WE BEGAN OUR DSCNT TO 1800 FT FOR XING AT MASTY. CAPT TRIED CALLING ATC TO TELL THEM FIELD IN SIGHT; BUT THEY DID NOT ACKNOWLEDGE. WE DID NOT GO MORE THAN 3 MI L OF LOC N OF EMRNB; BUT AS WE DSNDED ATC SAID WE WERE GOING BELOW MVA. AN IMMEDIATE CLB TO 2000 FT (PATTERN ALT) MADE. CAPT TOLD ATC FIELD IN SIGHT. WE CROSSED MASTY AT 2000 FT SLIGHTLY L OF LOC. ATC CLRED US FOR VISUAL AT THIS TIME. PLT CTLED LIGHTING RWY LIGHTS ON AS WE CROSSED MASTY. FINAL POS RPTS MADE ON CTAF FOLLOWED BY AN UNEVENTFUL LNDG AT AGS. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: 1) LATE AT NIGHT. 2) CAPT LONG TIME SINCE GOING TO AN UNCTLED FIELD. 3) WX CAUSING DEV. 4) CONFUSION WITH CLRNC 'RPT RE-ESTABLISHED ON ARR' AFTER CLRED FOR APCH. 5) LATE TURNING ON PLT CTLED LIGHTING APCH LIGHTS. WOULD HAVE HELPED IF THEY WERE ON NLT CARDO. 6) FO DID NOT CATCH PLT CTLED LIGHTING NOT ON TILL LATE.