Narrative:

[I was] arriving VMC without a flight plan; on flight watch with approach; on a clear night. I was released to tower. Approach had asked me if I had the weather which I had confirmed. AWOS did not report any abnormal condition. My briefing has informed me that approach lights were inoperative. As I crossed 1;000 ft AGL I called tower and reported 5 miles out; inbound for landing. Tower asked me if I had the runway in sight and I answered negative. A helicopter took off at that time. As I was about 4 miles out the tower informed me that the runway was closed! Had just been notamed. I asked if they meant 'closed' and it was confirmed. This airport has only one runway. To me closed is a 'legal' FAA word that means regardless of the condition of the runway it cannot be used. I canceled my arrival; climbed out in a left turn and returned to approach for help in finding a runway. They asked me where I wanted to go and I first chose an airport 15 miles north of my destination; but as I was turning toward it I realized that there was no public transportation there and I requested a further distant airport as a diversion. Approach gave me a heading 270 and as I was moving toward my new destination and about to take the ATIS; approach came back to me explaining that my original destination tower wanted to convey the idea that the runway may not be safe; but I could land at my own risks. This in my opinion does not qualify as closed. I turned back to my original destination and switched back to tower. The tower explained that drifting snow was obscuring runway lights and I could land at my own risks (as I was told by approach before switching frequencies). Within seconds I had established visual on the runway and started a normal descent. I requested information about 'braking action' which the tower did not understand (I have an accent; but I have lived in the us for decades and I practice as a physician). After trying three times and explaining with different words I was informed that no airplane had landed in hours; no information was available. I landed uneventfully on a dry runway with good braking action. After reviewing the rules and terminology I am still confused: when tower says the runway is closed; I do not think it is asking me to decide; I cannot land. The entire situation was 'weird' more than really a concern. VMC in the area that I know well made the situation easy to deal with and approach was extremely helpful. The tower might have been over cautious following a crash at that airport two nights before (no fatalities); but I believe I had no choice until the tower allowed me to land 'at my own risks.' except for some miscommunication and a 20-minute delay I do not think there was any violation of any rules; but I think such an incident is worth reporting.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A BE35 pilot was told the runway was closed with no explanation; so he began diverting only to be told later by TRACON that snow covering the runway lights was the reason but he could land at his own risk. He returned to his original destination airport for an uneventful landing.

Narrative: [I was] arriving VMC without a flight plan; on flight watch with Approach; on a clear night. I was released to Tower. Approach had asked me if I had the weather which I had confirmed. AWOS did not report any abnormal condition. My briefing has informed me that approach lights were inoperative. As I crossed 1;000 FT AGL I called Tower and reported 5 miles out; inbound for landing. Tower asked me if I had the runway in sight and I answered negative. A helicopter took off at that time. As I was about 4 miles out the Tower informed me that the runway was closed! Had just been NOTAMed. I asked if they meant 'closed' and it was confirmed. This airport has only one runway. To me closed is a 'legal' FAA word that means regardless of the condition of the runway it cannot be used. I canceled my arrival; climbed out in a left turn and returned to Approach for help in finding a runway. They asked me where I wanted to go and I first chose an airport 15 miles north of my destination; but as I was turning toward it I realized that there was no public transportation there and I requested a further distant airport as a diversion. Approach gave me a heading 270 and as I was moving toward my new destination and about to take the ATIS; Approach came back to me explaining that my original destination Tower wanted to convey the idea that the runway may not be safe; but I could land at my own risks. This in my opinion does not qualify as closed. I turned back to my original destination and switched back to Tower. The Tower explained that drifting snow was obscuring runway lights and I could land at my own risks (as I was told by Approach before switching frequencies). Within seconds I had established visual on the runway and started a normal descent. I requested information about 'braking action' which the Tower did not understand (I have an accent; but I have lived in the US for decades and I practice as a physician). After trying three times and explaining with different words I was informed that no airplane had landed in hours; no information was available. I landed uneventfully on a dry runway with good braking action. After reviewing the rules and terminology I am still confused: when Tower says the runway is closed; I do not think it is asking me to decide; I cannot land. The entire situation was 'weird' more than really a concern. VMC in the area that I know well made the situation easy to deal with and Approach was extremely helpful. The Tower might have been over cautious following a crash at that airport two nights before (no fatalities); but I believe I had no choice until the Tower allowed me to land 'at my own risks.' Except for some miscommunication and a 20-minute delay I do not think there was any violation of any rules; but I think such an incident is worth reporting.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.