A pilot executed a go around at 300 ft when he realized he was lined up to land on the F82 taxiway a...

Narrative:

I was inbound for landing and entered left downwind for runway 35. There was another airplane on short final for 35. The other airplane landed and called clear of 35 on the CTAF as I was turning base. I turned final and lined up with what I thought was the runway. The approach was looking really good. Then I noticed that the other airplane was directly in front of me. That's when I realized that I was not aligned with runway 35 -- instead; I was aligned with the taxiway adjacent to the runway. As I initiated a go-around; the other pilot came on frequency and confirmed my mistake. There were two major factors that caused me to line up with the taxiway instead of the runway. First; the taxiway was used a drag strip for race cars in the past. As a result of the drag races; it has very dark parallel markings that resemble the touchdown zone of a large commercial airport. Second; it was dusk. In the low light; the dark skid marks stood out as the most prominent visual cue; a visual cue that I am used to seeing on runways at larger airports. After the go-around I made a full trip around the traffic pattern and landed uneventfully on runway 35. Improved runway markings and/or lighting might make the runway stand out more prominently than the dark skid marks on the taxiway during low light conditions.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A pilot executed a go around at 300 FT when he realized he was lined up to land on the F82 taxiway adjacent to Runway 35 because during his dusk approach he did not distinguish the difference until he saw a taxiing aircraft.

Narrative: I was inbound for landing and entered left downwind for Runway 35. There was another airplane on short final for 35. The other airplane landed and called clear of 35 on the CTAF as I was turning base. I turned final and lined up with what I thought was the runway. The approach was looking really good. Then I noticed that the other airplane was directly in front of me. That's when I realized that I was not aligned with Runway 35 -- instead; I was aligned with the taxiway adjacent to the runway. As I initiated a go-around; the other pilot came on frequency and confirmed my mistake. There were two major factors that caused me to line up with the taxiway instead of the runway. First; the taxiway was used a drag strip for race cars in the past. As a result of the drag races; it has very dark parallel markings that resemble the touchdown zone of a large commercial airport. Second; it was dusk. In the low light; the dark skid marks stood out as the most prominent visual cue; a visual cue that I am used to seeing on runways at larger airports. After the go-around I made a full trip around the traffic pattern and landed uneventfully on Runway 35. Improved runway markings and/or lighting might make the runway stand out more prominently than the dark skid marks on the taxiway during low light conditions.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 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.

Attributes
ACN	1070945
Time
Date	201303
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	F82.Airport
State Reference	TX
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Dusk
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Small Aircraft Low Wing 1 Eng Retractable Gear
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Final Approach
Route In Use	Visual Approach
Flight Plan	VFR
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Private
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 15 Flight Crew Total 123 Flight Crew Type 14.5
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Track / Heading All Types Inflight Event / Encounter Unstabilized Approach

A pilot executed a go around at 300 ft when he realized he was lined up to land on the F82 taxiway adjacent to runway 35 because during his dusk approach he did not distinguish the difference until he saw a taxiing aircraft.