AN ACR CREW IS CLRED FOR APCH TO FIND NO RWY LIGHTS ILLUMINATED ON RWY 5 AT MCN; DURING A TWR CLOSED OP. THE COMMERCIAL CHART INDICATED PLT CTLED LIGHTING; BUT IT WAS LATER DETERMINED THAT MCN FSS HAD CTL OF THE LIGHTS.

Date: 2001-02 · Phase: approach

Anomalies: deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy|other-arpt-lighting-confusion-plt-ctled-lighting

Synopsis

AN ACR CREW IS CLRED FOR APCH TO FIND NO RWY LIGHTS ILLUMINATED ON RWY 5 AT MCN; DURING A TWR CLOSED OP. THE COMMERCIAL CHART INDICATED PLT CTLED LIGHTING; BUT IT WAS LATER DETERMINED THAT MCN FSS HAD CTL OF THE LIGHTS.

Narrative

WE RECEIVED VECTORS FOR THE ILS APCH TO RWY 5 INTO MCN. AFTER GETTING BELOW A FEW SCATTERED CLOUDS WHILE ON GLIDESLOPE; I COULD NOT SEE THE APCH LIGHTS OR RWY LIGHTS TO RWY 5. THE CAPT HAD BRIEFED ILS RWY 5 STRAIGHT IN. WITHOUT THE RWY OR APCH LIGHTS IN SIGHT WE EXECUTED THE MISSED APCH. BEING VECTORED IN WE/I THOUGHT MCN APCH WOULD ADVISE MCN RADIO TO HAVE THE LIGHTS FOR RWY 5 ILLUMINATED. I BELIEVE ALL THE APPLICABLE CTAF POS RPTS WERE MADE; BUT FOR SOME REASON NOT RECEIVED BY FSS ON THE FIELD. THEREFORE; THE LIGHTS WERE NOT TURNED ON BY THE FSS FOR RWY 5. RWY 13/31 AND TXWY LIGHTS WERE ALL ILLUMINATED. ON SECOND ATTEMPT ALL RADIO HDOF'S WERE NORMAL. FSS (MCN RADIO) CONTACTED AND APCH AND LNDG WERE NORMAL. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 502168: WE RECEIVED VECTORS FOR THE ILS RWY 5 INTO MCN. APCH CTL VERBALLY GAVE THE FO THE WX AT MCN. HE DID NOT LISTEN TO ATIS. THE NOTE AT THE END OF THE ATIS MENTIONS TO CONTACT THE FSS. I WAS NOT AWARE THAT THERE WAS A FSS AT MCN. WHILE HE BROADCAST ON CTAF I WAS NOT EXPECTING TO HEAR A CALL FROM FSS; SO I DIDN'T THINK ANYTHING OF IT WHEN WE DIDN'T. THE APCH PLATE FOR ILS RWY 5 HAS A NOTATION OF PLT CTLED LIGHTING; WHICH IS INACCURATE. ALSO; ON THE ARPT PAGE SHOWS PLT CTLED LIGHTING ON FOR THE RWY 31 VASI. I HAD REVIEWED THIS AND EXPECTED THE APCH AND RWY LIGHTS TO BE ON; ESPECIALLY SINCE I WAS VECTORS FOR THE ILS AND APCH LIGHTS ARE A COMPONENT. THERE ARE NO NOTATIONS ON THE MCN COMMERCIAL PLATES; THAT I AM AWARE OF; THAT INDICATE A FSS ON THE FIELD. THE FSS WAS CTLING THE LIGHTS AND DID NOT TURN THEM ON. APPARENTLY THE FO DID NOT EFFECTIVELY BROADCAST. AT APPROX 1200 FT MSL; WITH NO RWY LIGHTS INSIGHT; WHEN I COULD SEE TXWY LIGHTS; I EXECUTED THE MISSED APCH. HAD THE FO LISTENED TO THE ATIS; OR ESTABLISHED RADIO CONTACT; I WOULD HAVE KNOWN THERE'S A FSS ON THE FIELD AND THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED. I THINK THERE SHOULD BE AN INDICATION ON THE COMMERCIAL PLATES THAT THERE IS A FSS. ALSO; THE COMMERCIAL PLATES LED ME TO BELIEVE THE RWY LIGHTS WERE ALWAYS ILLUMINATED; EXCEPT THE RWY 31 VASI. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR INDICATED IN CALLBACK THAT IT WAS DETERMINED THAT WHEN THE TWR CLOSES; THE FSS TAKES CTL OF THE LIGHTS AND MONITORS THE CTAF ON THE TWR FREQ. ONLY THE VASI ON RWY 31 IS PLT CTLED; WHICH IS NOTED ON THE COMMERCIAL ARPT CHART AND IN THE FAC DIRECTORY. THE REFERENCE TO PLT CTLED LIGHTING ON THE ILS RWY 05 COMMERCIAL CHART APPEARS TO BE IN ERROR; OR AT BEST CONFUSING.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.