This is an excerpt from a report made to the Aviation Safety Reporting System. The narrative is written by the pilot, rather than FAA or NTSB officials. To maintain anonymity, many details, such as aircraft model or airport, are often scrubbed from the reports.
While descending for a solo night training landing at Nut Tree Airport (KVCB) in Vacaville, California, I was unable to identify the runway or runway end identifier lights (REILs) for a planned base leg to final approach.
I failed to maintain situational awareness of my altitude and continued to descend to approximately 250 feet AGL before I identified the runway and realized my altitude.
I performed a go-around, re-entered the traffic pattern, and completed the landing.
The chain of events began with my inability to locate the runway while already descending, and my commitment to my base to final approach plan.
My fixation on locating the runway took my attention away from managing my altitude.
I created risk by starting a descent and not modifying my approach plan when I had not identified the runway.
I should not have descended below at least traffic pattern altitude (TPA), then identified the runway, and reentered the traffic pattern in a fashion appropriate for my position to complete the landing.
Primary Problem: Human Factors
ACN: 1988178
Thank you for sharing and in a humble way. It’s interesting to recall our first PPL lessons about the traffic pattern symmetry. Sometimes we are so familiar to operate the same airdrome, so fixed to the marking point on the ground that we forget the basics. For instance, take a reference 90 degrees left/right, on tailwind leg, before turn to the base leg… level the wings and confirm RWY insight before turn to final. And by night it is specially critic. Thanks for sharing!
Even if you had maintain pattern altitude over the airport you can easily enter the pattern safely. Unless familiar with terrain surrounding an airport very important to fly at a safe altitude until one has the runway in sight.
What do Pilots think
Primarily, I want to thank you for sharing your “learning opportunity/teaching moment.”
When I debrief my flights, i find there’s always something that I could have done better. Such as checking airspeed more frequently, power management on final. Even something less important, I too remind myself the importance of situational awareness.