A C182 PLT LNDG AT NIGHT MHR ON RWY 22R WAS INSTRUCTED TO EXPEDITE OFF AT TXWY E. THE PLT CLAIMS THAT POOR MARKINGS CAUSED HIM TO MISS TXWY E; CAUSING LNDG TFC TO GO AROUND.
Synopsis
A C182 PLT LNDG AT NIGHT MHR ON RWY 22R WAS INSTRUCTED TO EXPEDITE OFF AT TXWY E. THE PLT CLAIMS THAT POOR MARKINGS CAUSED HIM TO MISS TXWY E; CAUSING LNDG TFC TO GO AROUND.
Narrative
AFTER A NIGHT LNDG AT MHR ON RWY 22R; THE TWR DIRECTED ME TO EXIT AT TXWY ECHO. I SLOWED UP AT TXWY DELTA (WHICH WAS CLOSED AND NOTAMED AS SUCH) AND WAS ASKED BY THE TWR TO EXPEDITE MY TAXI TO ECHO AND EXIT THE RWY. I DID NOT SEE THE MARKINGS FOR THE TXWY AND TAXIED PAST TXWY ECHO ON THE OVERRUN AREA OF RWY 22R. I TURNED AROUND TO TAXI BACK TO TXWY ECHO. THE TWR ASKED IF I WAS CLEAR OF THE RWY. WHEN I SAID NO; SHE THEN DIRECTED A LNDG ACFT TO EXECUTE A MISSED APCH. THE ACFT MAY HAVE LANDED OR WAS AT LEAST VERY CLOSE TO THE GND. SINCE I WAS ON THE OVERRUN AREA AT THE TIME; THERE WAS STILL A GOOD DISTANCE BETWEEN US. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: 1. I HAD FLOWN IN AND OUT OF MHR FREQUENTLY IN THE PAST FEW YEARS. THIS CONTRIBUTED TO A 'AT HOME' FEELING; AND IN RETROSPECT; I DID NOT ADEQUATELY REVIEW THE TXWYS SO THAT I KNEW THEIR LOCATION FOR THE RWY IN USE. 2. THE LIGHTING AND SIGNAGE FOR THE TXWYS IS TERRIBLE. EVEN IF YOU KNOW WHERE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE; IT IS DIFFICULT AT NIGHT TO SEE WHERE TO EXIT THE RWY. THE PAINTED CTRLINE TO EXIT ONTO TXWY ECHO IS FAINT AND IS MIXED INTO THE RWY NUMBERS (4L) AND MARKINGS. THERE WAS NO SIGNAGE VISIBLE TO ME AT NIGHT MARKING THE TXWY. 3. I ALLOWED MYSELF TO GET HURRIED BY THE TWR'S REQUEST TO 'EXPEDITE' AND THE ACFT I KNEW WAS ON SHORT FINAL BEHIND ME. AFTER LAST NIGHT'S FLT; I REVIEWED THE INCIDENT AND TXWYS AT MHR WITH A FLT INSTRUCTOR. TONIGHT; I REPEATED LAST NIGHT'S FLT TO SAC AND BACK TO MHR. IT REINFORCED TO ME THE DIFFICULTY IN SEEING ANY SIGNAGE OR MARKINGS FOR THE TXWY AT NIGHT AT MHR ARPT; AND THE NEED TO REVIEW THE TXWY DIAGRAM ON THE COMMERCIAL ARPT CHART (THE A/FD HAD NO DIAGRAM) BEFOREHAND AT ANY ARPT; EVEN THE 'HOME' ARPT. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR SAID THE OTHER ACFT THAT WAS ISSUED A MISSED APCH WHILE HE WAS IN THE RUN UP AREA WAS A LARGE TWIN ACFT. THE ACFT CROSSED OVER AT APPROX 100 FT. RPTR ADMITTED HE SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO THE ATIS THAT HAD INFO ABOUT TXWY D CLOSED. HE SAID EXCEPT FOR THE AREA AROUND RWY 22L; MOST OTHER AREAS ARE NOT VERY WELL LIT. THE TURN OFF LINE ON RWY 22R TO THE RAMP IS DIFFICULT TO SEE AT NIGHT. HE HAD A FLT INSTRUCTOR WITH HIM THE NIGHT OF THE INCIDENT AND THOROUGHLY DISCUSSED THE INCIDENT AFTER PARKING. THE FLT INSTRUCTOR AGREED THE RWY MARKINGS WERE HARD TO SEE.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.