Beech 35 · NTSB accident record

Can't Find the Airport at NightERA24FA104

A night approach to an unfamiliar field, then a fire

Date
Thursday, February 1, 2024
Time
~7:07 PM EST
Weather
Night VMC · clear · 10 SM · wind 320 at 9 kt · 55°F
Location
Clearwater Air Park (KCLW), Clearwater, Florida
Age
54
Cockpit moment

Night Search for a Field You Can't See

You're in a V35B Bonanza at night, IFR across Florida toward Clearwater.

The air is clear and calm — ten miles visibility.

You've never been to this airport.

It's non-towered, no rotating beacon, tucked into a dense residential area.

Tampa Approach calls the field at your two o'clock, five miles.

You tell them you're looking for it.

You switch to CTAF and ask for the pilot-controlled runway lights.

You cancel IFR and squawk VFR.

The FBO answers the lights are already on — medium intensity.

You ask for them again.

You fly up the west side, half a mile out, parallel to runway 34 — and pass it into the dark.

The runway still won't resolve — do you keep hunting for it, or turn toward a field you can actually see?

By the numbers
1,403
GA accidents at night
94
a year
66%
were survivable
1,021
lives lost in them
as likely to be fatal as by day
Explore more accidents at ClearQuery
NTSB accidents, 2011–2025
The decision

You've flown past the runway once and still can't pick it out. Do you keep hunting for Clearwater, or turn toward a field you can see?