Small Aircraft; High Wing; 1 Eng; Fixed Gear
Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 13; Flight Crew Total 300; Flight Crew Type 190
Communication Breakdown; Situational Awareness
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Ground Incursion Runway
General None Reported / Taken
Airport; Procedure; Human Factors
Working on night currency. Was coming back to land at VDF on runway 5. Noted that both runways looked dimly lit; [Runway] 5/23 had only the edge lighting lit. I believed that all runway lights were off so I keyed the microphone 5 clicks. Repeated this several times as I noted that the usual 'tic' heard over the radio wasn't present. No change in the lighting. Tried second radio; still no result. Landed on 5; taxied back to takeoff again. Talked to another pilot over the radio stated he was inbound for landing on runway 5. He keyed his microphone and again no change was noted. We talked about it a bit and then he said he was going to Plant City where maybe they could get the lights to come on. At some point a third person asked over the radio if we were talking about Tampa Executive airport and I said we were. He said he'd heard from another pilot that runway 5/23 was closed. I don't know if I'd gotten this information before or after I'd taken off on 5 again; but I'd just landed on 5 with no incident and didn't put much thought in the anonymous voice on the radio with second hand information. My position was further bolstered by the fact that another pilot was inbound for the same runway. After landing on 5 for the second time I taxied over to runway 18 and did a final takeoff and landing; then taxied back to my hangar. I was still a bit in disbelief that the runway was closed at that time. I was under the belief that closed runways always had the big 'X' with flashing lights on them. Also there was NO mention at all on the ASOS system about the runway closure; though there was mention of runway 18/36's length. Seems something as important as a runway closure would surely be mentioned on the ASOS before a runway length that can be looked up in any airport directory.In all honesty I'd filled out this report [the next day]; and then decided not to file it because I was convinced that the runway wasn't closed. A call to the ASOS phone number at VDF did now contain the runway closure information and friends convinced me that it was closed when I used it. As I said; though; it wasn't on the ASOS the night before. My errors here were: 1) I didn't check the NOTAMs before taking off. I mistakenly assumed that my software; Foreflight; would alert me of such things or that the ASOS would surely contain that vital information. 2) Bad assumptions. I'd convinced myself that; based on the evidence of the other pilot who was inbound; along with the lack of mention of the closure on ASOS and the absence of 'clicks' from my transmitter; the runway was open. It was just having issues with the lighting.I think 'the system' did a poor job here. I later gathered that the runway closure was due to a crane being near the arrival end of runway 5. While taxiing I noted the well-lit construction area where the crane was located but didn't consider it a hazard to navigation. This was the most stealthy runway closure I've ever heard of and if it was closed due to danger being present to pilots then some heads should roll. A pilot coming from another airport with no flight plan or having been diverted would listen to ASOS on the way in. He could have done everything else right and with no mention of a runway closure he might have also assumed runway light trouble. So he's just a bad assumption and a little low in the glide path away from a fatal accident.
GA pilot reported unknowingly landing on a closed runway at VDF. The pilot suggested adding the runway information to the ASOS recording.