Fokker 100 crew lands after sunset with anti-collision beacon inoperative.

Attributes
ACN	434280
Time
Date	199904
Day	Wed
Local Time Of Day	1801 To 2400
Place
Locale Reference	airport : dfw.airport
State Reference	TX
Altitude	agl single value : 0
Environment
Light	Dusk
Aircraft 1
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	Fokker 100
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	ground : taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : instrument pilot : commercial pilot : multi engine
ASRS Report	434280
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp
Events
Anomaly	aircraft equipment problem : less severe maintenance problem : non compliance with mel non adherence : far
Independent Detector	other flight crewa other flight crewb
Resolutory Action	none taken : anomaly accepted
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Flight Crew Human Performance Maintenance Human Performance Company Aircraft
Primary Problem	Ambiguous

Narrative:

Aircraft MEL item upper anti-collision beacon inoperative. We departed bna at XA30 local and received ground stop on taxi out due to high winds at dfw. Airborne out of bna at approximately XB45 local. Received many en route vectors due to WX. Landed after official sunset. MEL states aircraft may be dispatched for day operations only. Captain and I felt we could arrive safely in dfw without the upper beacon as our strobes were functioning properly.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: FOKKER 100 CREW LANDS AFTER SUNSET WITH ANTI-COLLISION BEACON INOP.

Narrative: ACFT MEL ITEM UPPER ANTI-COLLISION BEACON INOP. WE DEPARTED BNA AT XA30 LCL AND RECEIVED GND STOP ON TAXI OUT DUE TO HIGH WINDS AT DFW. AIRBORNE OUT OF BNA AT APPROX XB45 LCL. RECEIVED MANY ENRTE VECTORS DUE TO WX. LANDED AFTER OFFICIAL SUNSET. MEL STATES ACFT MAY BE DISPATCHED FOR DAY OPS ONLY. CAPT AND I FELT WE COULD ARRIVE SAFELY IN DFW WITHOUT THE UPPER BEACON AS OUR STROBES WERE FUNCTIONING PROPERLY.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.