Narrative:

Aircraft X called inbound from the northwest. Aircraft X was told to report over rawhide for possible right base runway 21. Aircraft X reported rawhide. 'Aircraft X not in sight enter right base, report 2 mi right base, say altitude.' '2500.' at the same time, a cessna was inbound from the southeast and told to report entering left downwind, and another cessna was in the runup not yet on frequency. The nord reported 2 mi right base. 'Aircraft X not in sight are you sure you are at scottsdale?' the nord said he was at scottsdale and something about his 'dash lights' were weak. I told him to report turning final, 'not in sight, cleared to land.' the cessna reported left downwind and was told #2 follow the nord on base. He could not see the nord either. The other cessna was now calling for departure and was told to hold short for landing traffic, even though I could not see the landing traffic. I was going to spin the left downwind cessna because I did not want him to extend too far with the large mountains to the northeast. I asked the nord to say position and he said he was on the runway. I still could not see him. I finally saw some taxiway lights disappear when he turned off the runway. His aircraft was pitch black with no lights whatsoever. I told him that was very dangerous and he needed to get his lights fixed. We have a d-brite at sdl. Unfortunately, when we are slaved off of phx, we only see targets above 3500 ft in most of the class D airspace. We have been slaved off of phx now for about 6 months. Prior to that, we were slaved off the iwa radar which allowed us to see all aircraft in the class D airspace. If we had radar to the ground at sdl, I would at least have had a primary on him, and it would have been a much safer situation.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: LCL CTLR AT SDL DID NOT SEE AN EXPERIMENTAL NORD ACFT LAND AT NIGHT BECAUSE THE ACFT WAS PAINTED BLACK AND WITHOUT LIGHTS.

Narrative: ACFT X CALLED INBOUND FROM THE NW. ACFT X WAS TOLD TO RPT OVER RAWHIDE FOR POSSIBLE R BASE RWY 21. ACFT X RPTED RAWHIDE. 'ACFT X NOT IN SIGHT ENTER R BASE, RPT 2 MI R BASE, SAY ALT.' '2500.' AT THE SAME TIME, A CESSNA WAS INBOUND FROM THE SE AND TOLD TO RPT ENTERING L DOWNWIND, AND ANOTHER CESSNA WAS IN THE RUNUP NOT YET ON FREQ. THE NORD RPTED 2 MI R BASE. 'ACFT X NOT IN SIGHT ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE AT SCOTTSDALE?' THE NORD SAID HE WAS AT SCOTTSDALE AND SOMETHING ABOUT HIS 'DASH LIGHTS' WERE WEAK. I TOLD HIM TO RPT TURNING FINAL, 'NOT IN SIGHT, CLRED TO LAND.' THE CESSNA RPTED L DOWNWIND AND WAS TOLD #2 FOLLOW THE NORD ON BASE. HE COULD NOT SEE THE NORD EITHER. THE OTHER CESSNA WAS NOW CALLING FOR DEP AND WAS TOLD TO HOLD SHORT FOR LNDG TFC, EVEN THOUGH I COULD NOT SEE THE LNDG TFC. I WAS GOING TO SPIN THE L DOWNWIND CESSNA BECAUSE I DID NOT WANT HIM TO EXTEND TOO FAR WITH THE LARGE MOUNTAINS TO THE NE. I ASKED THE NORD TO SAY POS AND HE SAID HE WAS ON THE RWY. I STILL COULD NOT SEE HIM. I FINALLY SAW SOME TXWY LIGHTS DISAPPEAR WHEN HE TURNED OFF THE RWY. HIS ACFT WAS PITCH BLACK WITH NO LIGHTS WHATSOEVER. I TOLD HIM THAT WAS VERY DANGEROUS AND HE NEEDED TO GET HIS LIGHTS FIXED. WE HAVE A D-BRITE AT SDL. UNFORTUNATELY, WHEN WE ARE SLAVED OFF OF PHX, WE ONLY SEE TARGETS ABOVE 3500 FT IN MOST OF THE CLASS D AIRSPACE. WE HAVE BEEN SLAVED OFF OF PHX NOW FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS. PRIOR TO THAT, WE WERE SLAVED OFF THE IWA RADAR WHICH ALLOWED US TO SEE ALL ACFT IN THE CLASS D AIRSPACE. IF WE HAD RADAR TO THE GND AT SDL, I WOULD AT LEAST HAVE HAD A PRIMARY ON HIM, AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A MUCH SAFER SIT.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.