C650 FLT CREW DESCENDED FOR APCH WITHOUT OBTAINING CLRNC FOR A VISUAL APCH.

Narrative

WE WERE RETURNING FROM ZZZ WITH ME ACTING AS FO; FLYING THE AIRPLANE. THIS WAS ONLY MY 8TH FLT IN THIS AIRPLANE. WE STARTED REQUESTING LOWER ALT FROM FAR ENOUGH OUT THAT WE WOULD HAVE HAD A 3 DEG GLIDE PATH TO THE ARPT. BECAUSE OF CONFLICTING TFC; WE WERE NOT ALLOWED TO DSND UNTIL NEARLY OVER THE ARPT. WE WERE STILL IN THE MID TEENS; SO WE REQUESTED A TURN TO THE N SO WE COULD LOSE ALT FOR THE VISUAL APCH TO RWY 20. THE VISIBILITY WAS ABOUT 4 MI; CEILING GOOD; WITH TSTMS JUST S OF THE ARPT. AFTER TURNING BACK TO THE ARPT; WE HAD THE FIELD IN SIGHT PROBABLY MI OUT. THE ARPT HAD BEEN HAVING TROUBLE WITH THE PLT CTLED LIGHTING AND THE CAPT WAS HAVING TROUBLE GETTING THEM ON. BECAUSE OF THE TSTMS S OF THE FIELD; I DECIDED TO DO A 360 DEG TURN TO PUT MYSELF IN POS TO LAND. SINCE I THOUGHT THE CAPT HAD OBTAINED A VISUAL APCH FROM CTR; I STARTED A SLIGHT DSCNT. I WAS AT ABOUT 1400 FT MSL (1000 FT AGL) WHEN CTR ANNOUNCED A LOW ALT ALERT. AT THIS POINT THE CAPT CANCELED IFR AND WE LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT. LOOKING BACK; I COULD SEE MANY LINKS IN THE ACCIDENT CHAIN. MY INEXPERIENCE IN THIS AIRPLANE; FLYING WITH DIFFERENT PEOPLE; THE LATE DSCNT; MARGINAL VISIBILITY; MALFUNCTIONING RWY LIGHTS; WX TO THE S OF THE FIELD; A LONG DUTY DAY; NIGHT VISUAL APCH IN MARGINAL CONDITIONS; AND LACK OF COMS BTWN CTR AND FLT CREW COULD HAVE RESULTED IN A BAD OUTCOME. IF I HAD IT TO DO OVER; I WOULD HAVE REQUESTED A CLRNC TO ONE OF THE IAF'S N OF THE ARPT FOR THE GPS 20 APCH AND THEN TAKEN A TURN OR TWO IN THE HOLDING PATTERN TO LOSE ALT. THIS WOULD HAVE MADE THE WHOLE PROCESS FAIRLY UNEVENTFUL.