Narrative:

After completing the approach at sacramento, and contacting norcal approach, the controller verbally gave me the ATIS information at mather. He then began vectoring me for the approach to runway 22L. Note that when I had left mather about 1 hour 20 mins earlier, that the ATIS information had said runway 22R was closed. However, when I called ground to taxi out, I was given instructions to taxi to runway 22R for takeoff. Another aircraft was given the same instruction and questioned the tower controller about the discrepancy. The tower controller explained that the runway was now open but the ATIS hadn't been changed. When the norcal controller gave me the ATIS information as I was returning to mather, nothing was said about runway 22R being closed. As I was vectored onto the base leg for the ILS runway 22L approach, I was told to watch for a gulfstream jet that was on a visual approach to runway 22L. After a min or so, I observed the gulfstream and could see he was well ahead of me and would be no factor. Finally, I was given the heading to intercept the localizer and was told to contact mather tower. I contacted the tower and advised I was inbound on the ILS runway 22L approach and asked for the option. I also explained I would like to stay in the pattern for 1 more takeoff and landing and that the second landing would be to a full stop. The tower controller approved my request and cleared me for the option on runway 22L. My intention was to land on runway 22L but as I continued my approach, I could hear the gulfstream being given a go around for runway 22L. I also heard the gulfstream pilot question the tower as to my location and the tower told him I would be no factor. I was not aware of why the gulfstream was given the go around, but I assumed it was at his request. I also believe I heard another aircraft in the pattern which was a military T-38 jet. Realizing there were 2 other aircraft trying to land on runway 22L, both which were larger and faster than I was, I called the tower and offered to sidestep to runway 22R (again, I had no idea the runway was closed). The tower controller approved me to sidestep to runway 22R but with low approach restr to 600 ft, this is where the confusion began. I misunderstood what he said and thought he wanted me to stay above 600 ft until I had completed the sidestep and began the landing to runway 22R. In my mind I thought he wanted me to stay above 600 ft until I sidestepped to runway 22R because of the other traffic that were going to land on runway 22L. It was not clear to me that he did not want me to land on runway 22R and to go no lower than 600 ft. Had I been aware that runway 22R was closed, I would have requested to stay in the pattern for runway 22L, and I certainly would have never landed on runway 22R. I could have queried the controller as to exactly what he wanted me to do but I was busy with the approach at the time, and I believed I understood what he wanted me to do. I even recall asking him if he wanted me to do right closed traffic after I landed. He first said left closed traffic and then immediately changed it to right closed traffic, which I acknowledged. After sidestepping to runway 22R, I continued on my descent for the landing obviously going below 600 ft but nothing was said by the tower controller. In fairness to the controller he was also juggling the 2 other aircraft as well as me. I was concentrating on my landing spot and not further down the runway. Finally I did look further down the runway and saw what appeared to be a vehicle but it was off to the side of the runway. I did not see any vehicles on the runway. As I started to cross over the '22R' on the runway, I realized it had been X'ed out and the thought crossed my mind as to why the controller was landing me on an X'ed out runway. I then looked down the runway and realized there were more vehicles, and they appeared to be crossing the runway. They appeared to be about 2/3 of the way down the runway. By this time I was just about ready to touch down. I touched down and immediately got on the brakes hard and came to a stop within a very short distance. I realize now I should have applied power and did a go around to prevent a landing. However, when I saw the vehicles on the runway, I was so close to landing that I instinctively touched down knowingi could stop without any danger to them, and that is what happened. I also believe that had I tried to go around, starting at nearly the touchdown point, I might have been a greater danger to the vehicles depending on when I rotated. When I stopped I was far enough away from the vehicles and workers that I could really only make out vehicles moving back and forth but not human shapes (the tower controller later told me he thought I was at least 3000 ft from them). I called the tower controller who then aid he had restr me to 600 ft, and that I wasn't to have landed because the runway was closed. I then realized the confusion over the communication between he and I, but at this point there was nothing I could do but call him after back-taxiing off of runway 22R. I was then informed he had no choice but to make a report to the FAA. In my phone conversation with the tower controller, he did say he started to say something to me about not landing on runway 22R, but this was just before I landed and it was apparently too late.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: RWY INCURSION WHEN A C206G PLT LANDS ON A CLOSED RWY THAT CONTAINS VEHICULAR TFC AFTER BEING CLRED ONLY FOR THE LOW APCH TO RWY 22R AT MHR.

Narrative: AFTER COMPLETING THE APCH AT SACRAMENTO, AND CONTACTING NORCAL APCH, THE CTLR VERBALLY GAVE ME THE ATIS INFO AT MATHER. HE THEN BEGAN VECTORING ME FOR THE APCH TO RWY 22L. NOTE THAT WHEN I HAD LEFT MATHER ABOUT 1 HR 20 MINS EARLIER, THAT THE ATIS INFO HAD SAID RWY 22R WAS CLOSED. HOWEVER, WHEN I CALLED GND TO TAXI OUT, I WAS GIVEN INSTRUCTIONS TO TAXI TO RWY 22R FOR TKOF. ANOTHER ACFT WAS GIVEN THE SAME INSTRUCTION AND QUESTIONED THE TWR CTLR ABOUT THE DISCREPANCY. THE TWR CTLR EXPLAINED THAT THE RWY WAS NOW OPEN BUT THE ATIS HADN'T BEEN CHANGED. WHEN THE NORCAL CTLR GAVE ME THE ATIS INFO AS I WAS RETURNING TO MATHER, NOTHING WAS SAID ABOUT RWY 22R BEING CLOSED. AS I WAS VECTORED ONTO THE BASE LEG FOR THE ILS RWY 22L APCH, I WAS TOLD TO WATCH FOR A GULFSTREAM JET THAT WAS ON A VISUAL APCH TO RWY 22L. AFTER A MIN OR SO, I OBSERVED THE GULFSTREAM AND COULD SEE HE WAS WELL AHEAD OF ME AND WOULD BE NO FACTOR. FINALLY, I WAS GIVEN THE HDG TO INTERCEPT THE LOC AND WAS TOLD TO CONTACT MATHER TWR. I CONTACTED THE TWR AND ADVISED I WAS INBOUND ON THE ILS RWY 22L APCH AND ASKED FOR THE OPTION. I ALSO EXPLAINED I WOULD LIKE TO STAY IN THE PATTERN FOR 1 MORE TKOF AND LNDG AND THAT THE SECOND LNDG WOULD BE TO A FULL STOP. THE TWR CTLR APPROVED MY REQUEST AND CLRED ME FOR THE OPTION ON RWY 22L. MY INTENTION WAS TO LAND ON RWY 22L BUT AS I CONTINUED MY APCH, I COULD HEAR THE GULFSTREAM BEING GIVEN A GAR FOR RWY 22L. I ALSO HEARD THE GULFSTREAM PLT QUESTION THE TWR AS TO MY LOCATION AND THE TWR TOLD HIM I WOULD BE NO FACTOR. I WAS NOT AWARE OF WHY THE GULFSTREAM WAS GIVEN THE GAR, BUT I ASSUMED IT WAS AT HIS REQUEST. I ALSO BELIEVE I HEARD ANOTHER ACFT IN THE PATTERN WHICH WAS A MIL T-38 JET. REALIZING THERE WERE 2 OTHER ACFT TRYING TO LAND ON RWY 22L, BOTH WHICH WERE LARGER AND FASTER THAN I WAS, I CALLED THE TWR AND OFFERED TO SIDESTEP TO RWY 22R (AGAIN, I HAD NO IDEA THE RWY WAS CLOSED). THE TWR CTLR APPROVED ME TO SIDESTEP TO RWY 22R BUT WITH LOW APCH RESTR TO 600 FT, THIS IS WHERE THE CONFUSION BEGAN. I MISUNDERSTOOD WHAT HE SAID AND THOUGHT HE WANTED ME TO STAY ABOVE 600 FT UNTIL I HAD COMPLETED THE SIDESTEP AND BEGAN THE LNDG TO RWY 22R. IN MY MIND I THOUGHT HE WANTED ME TO STAY ABOVE 600 FT UNTIL I SIDESTEPPED TO RWY 22R BECAUSE OF THE OTHER TFC THAT WERE GOING TO LAND ON RWY 22L. IT WAS NOT CLR TO ME THAT HE DID NOT WANT ME TO LAND ON RWY 22R AND TO GO NO LOWER THAN 600 FT. HAD I BEEN AWARE THAT RWY 22R WAS CLOSED, I WOULD HAVE REQUESTED TO STAY IN THE PATTERN FOR RWY 22L, AND I CERTAINLY WOULD HAVE NEVER LANDED ON RWY 22R. I COULD HAVE QUERIED THE CTLR AS TO EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTED ME TO DO BUT I WAS BUSY WITH THE APCH AT THE TIME, AND I BELIEVED I UNDERSTOOD WHAT HE WANTED ME TO DO. I EVEN RECALL ASKING HIM IF HE WANTED ME TO DO R CLOSED TFC AFTER I LANDED. HE FIRST SAID L CLOSED TFC AND THEN IMMEDIATELY CHANGED IT TO R CLOSED TFC, WHICH I ACKNOWLEDGED. AFTER SIDESTEPPING TO RWY 22R, I CONTINUED ON MY DSCNT FOR THE LNDG OBVIOUSLY GOING BELOW 600 FT BUT NOTHING WAS SAID BY THE TWR CTLR. IN FAIRNESS TO THE CTLR HE WAS ALSO JUGGLING THE 2 OTHER ACFT AS WELL AS ME. I WAS CONCENTRATING ON MY LNDG SPOT AND NOT FURTHER DOWN THE RWY. FINALLY I DID LOOK FURTHER DOWN THE RWY AND SAW WHAT APPEARED TO BE A VEHICLE BUT IT WAS OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE RWY. I DID NOT SEE ANY VEHICLES ON THE RWY. AS I STARTED TO CROSS OVER THE '22R' ON THE RWY, I REALIZED IT HAD BEEN X'ED OUT AND THE THOUGHT CROSSED MY MIND AS TO WHY THE CTLR WAS LNDG ME ON AN X'ED OUT RWY. I THEN LOOKED DOWN THE RWY AND REALIZED THERE WERE MORE VEHICLES, AND THEY APPEARED TO BE XING THE RWY. THEY APPEARED TO BE ABOUT 2/3 OF THE WAY DOWN THE RWY. BY THIS TIME I WAS JUST ABOUT READY TO TOUCH DOWN. I TOUCHED DOWN AND IMMEDIATELY GOT ON THE BRAKES HARD AND CAME TO A STOP WITHIN A VERY SHORT DISTANCE. I REALIZE NOW I SHOULD HAVE APPLIED PWR AND DID A GO AROUND TO PREVENT A LNDG. HOWEVER, WHEN I SAW THE VEHICLES ON THE RWY, I WAS SO CLOSE TO LNDG THAT I INSTINCTIVELY TOUCHED DOWN KNOWINGI COULD STOP WITHOUT ANY DANGER TO THEM, AND THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED. I ALSO BELIEVE THAT HAD I TRIED TO GO AROUND, STARTING AT NEARLY THE TOUCHDOWN POINT, I MIGHT HAVE BEEN A GREATER DANGER TO THE VEHICLES DEPENDING ON WHEN I ROTATED. WHEN I STOPPED I WAS FAR ENOUGH AWAY FROM THE VEHICLES AND WORKERS THAT I COULD REALLY ONLY MAKE OUT VEHICLES MOVING BACK AND FORTH BUT NOT HUMAN SHAPES (THE TWR CTLR LATER TOLD ME HE THOUGHT I WAS AT LEAST 3000 FT FROM THEM). I CALLED THE TWR CTLR WHO THEN AID HE HAD RESTR ME TO 600 FT, AND THAT I WASN'T TO HAVE LANDED BECAUSE THE RWY WAS CLOSED. I THEN REALIZED THE CONFUSION OVER THE COM BTWN HE AND I, BUT AT THIS POINT THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO BUT CALL HIM AFTER BACK-TAXIING OFF OF RWY 22R. I WAS THEN INFORMED HE HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO MAKE A RPT TO THE FAA. IN MY PHONE CONVERSATION WITH THE TWR CTLR, HE DID SAY HE STARTED TO SAY SOMETHING TO ME ABOUT NOT LNDG ON RWY 22R, BUT THIS WAS JUST BEFORE I LANDED AND IT WAS APPARENTLY TOO LATE.

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.