Narrative:

While on approach to dvl at approximately 3 mile final; the runway lights went out. We initiated a go-around; and started discussing options for where to go. Before we left the frequency; an ops vehicle called us on CTAF and informed us that they'd been having issues with the lights; and they would probably come back on in about 5 minutes. After verifying that we had enough fuel to fly to another airport if we made another attempt; we made a VFR pattern. As we turned base; the ops vehicle contacted us stating the lights were on again. We verified they were; and made a normal landing. While on final the 2nd time; [another] flight overhead tried to contact us; presumably because center was looking for us as we had not yet canceled. They called us with the wrong call sign; but mentioned dvl airport and CTAF frequency; so I responded that we were on final and would contact center shortly. They apparently didn't hear me; because they tried to call again. At that point we were focused on landing; so I didn't respond. After landing; we contacted flight service to cancel. They indicated no issues. I also called our dispatcher to alert her of the lighting issue at dvl; and she said she had not been contacted by anyone searching for us. The vehicle on the ground at dvl said they had been having issues. They didn't specify; and I didn't ask; for how long the problem had been happening. Our failure to notify ATC of our go-around was due to prioritizing aviate; navigate; communicate. We flew the traffic pattern first. While we did this; we were considering options for where to go if the lights did not re-illuminate; attempting to get more information from the ops vehicle; which was unresponsive; as well as making sure fuel was sufficient to get to another airport. By the time we could have made contact with ATC; we were about to turn our base leg; so aviate once again took priority. Determine the frequency this has been occurring at dvl by contacting airport ops. Provide extra contingency fuel for flights into dvl until the issue is resolved (I suggested this to our dispatcher already; who said she will pass it to the supervisor). If a go-around is necessary; attempt to contact ATC even if your plan is not certain yet. Details can be given and a plan can be made later.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carier flight crew reported the runway lights at DVL were intermittently unavailable.

Narrative: While on approach to DVL at approximately 3 mile final; the runway lights went out. We initiated a go-around; and started discussing options for where to go. Before we left the frequency; an ops vehicle called us on CTAF and informed us that they'd been having issues with the lights; and they would probably come back on in about 5 minutes. After verifying that we had enough fuel to fly to another airport if we made another attempt; we made a VFR pattern. As we turned base; the ops vehicle contacted us stating the lights were on again. We verified they were; and made a normal landing. While on final the 2nd time; [another] flight overhead tried to contact us; presumably because Center was looking for us as we had not yet canceled. They called us with the wrong call sign; but mentioned DVL airport and CTAF frequency; so I responded that we were on final and would contact Center shortly. They apparently didn't hear me; because they tried to call again. At that point we were focused on landing; so I didn't respond. After landing; we contacted Flight Service to cancel. They indicated no issues. I also called our dispatcher to alert her of the lighting issue at DVL; and she said she had not been contacted by anyone searching for us. The vehicle on the ground at DVL said they had been having issues. They didn't specify; and I didn't ask; for how long the problem had been happening. Our failure to notify ATC of our go-around was due to prioritizing aviate; navigate; communicate. We flew the traffic pattern first. While we did this; we were considering options for where to go if the lights did not re-illuminate; attempting to get more information from the ops vehicle; which was unresponsive; as well as making sure fuel was sufficient to get to another airport. By the time we could have made contact with ATC; we were about to turn our base leg; so aviate once again took priority. Determine the frequency this has been occurring at DVL by contacting airport ops. Provide extra contingency fuel for flights into DVL until the issue is resolved (I suggested this to our dispatcher already; who said she will pass it to the supervisor). If a go-around is necessary; attempt to contact ATC even if your plan is not certain yet. Details can be given and a plan can be made later.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.