Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 30; Flight Crew Total 2900; Flight Crew Type 1950
Confusion; Situational Awareness; Training / Qualification
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Flight Crew Diverted; Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification
Airport; Weather; Human Factors
This report describes an incident resulting from cancelling an IFR clearance too soon (when I saw the runway but was not yet on the ground and had to go missed and did not have a clearance).  Bad planning on my part. I had filed and had read the notams and saw that RWY XXL was closed except for day VFR.  I did not also notice that RWY XXR was completely closed.  When asked by Approach for the type of approach desired; I requested an Initial Fix on the RNAV XXL approach; told them I knew the runway was only open if the field was VFR and if it was not VFR at the time I arrived I would be landing on XXR.  They cleared me for the approach.  The local ASOS was reporting VFR.  When I reached the circling minimums; I saw the runways and cancelled my IFR clearance.  That was my mistake (really the second mistake - first was missing the NOTAM on the XXR RWY).  As I approached XXR; I saw the X at the end and knew I could not land.  I announced on CTAF I was circling to land on XXL and as I began the circle; I realized that the field was not VFR; so I could not land on XXL either.  At that point; I changed back to Approach and announced I was missed approach and asked for vectors for the ILS [alternate airport]. Approach complied and gave me a new clearance with vectors to final and I flew the approach and it all worked out. There were no comments about the cancellation and the new clearance or whether I was IMC or VMC when I asked for the new clearance.  I was VMC when I asked for it; but I could not remain VFR.  By the time I got it; I had been in IMC and was back in VMC.The cause of my problem was at least threefold:(1) I planned a trip to an airport with a runway only open in VFR.(2) I did not read the NOTAMs close enough to find the second closed runway. (3) I cancelled my clearance before I was on the ground to avoid having to make a phone call.  To prevent a recurrence; read NOTAMS carefully and don't cancel IFR until on the ground!
BE35 pilot cancelled IFR clearance prior to landing and subsequently had to get clearance for an approach to an alternate field. Pilot failed to see NOTAMS regarding runway restrictions at the destination airport.