No, there is no requirement for the landing surface to be lit during night operations. 50 years ago I was taught how to use the moon and ambient light to orient myself for landing on un-lit runways. With infrared and low-light night vision devices available today it is much safer, but rarely done outside the military, law enforcement, or public safety environment.

Keep in mind that aircraft are required to have lighting for flight during night operations and that includes landing lights to illuminate the runway and taxiway.

Click on more instead of newspaper link and it will give you the entire story.

Great! In order to read this entire article we have to submit to a payed subscription?

OK, so the REIL's were inoperative. There are still runway centerline lights (white), versus green taxiway centerline and blue edge lights. And let us not forget about the runway markings. There are real big white boxes (150' x 50') called aiming points on either side of runway centerline. Plus you also have Landing Threshold markings for 3000 feet on each end of a precision approach runway. I do have to say this though, They did real good landing on a 75 feet wide pavement versus a 150 feet wide pavement, at night, with no edge lights.

Been there many times, a small airport and not one to be making mistakes. I would love to know what they were doing, or did on the approach. There is such a thing as minimums and RVR and the weather is still probably called by station agents. Many of these regional airports in the NW have a tower but they are usually closed after 11:00 pm or sooner.

The airfield lights were inop/OOS & the pilots still landed?? No less, on a taxiway?? What part of if lights are inop/OOS & your landing at night or in IMC conditions, did the crew not understand & do a go around to sort things out. No lightning at night or in IMC conditions is a real game changer. It changes your approach mins. Who's authority did the crew have to operate & what happened to the NOTAM or at least a heads up from Seattle Center?? Give me a vector Victor. Oh, the airport lights are out, oh hell lets just continue with the vector Victor. Why didn't the dispatcher advise the crew on the preflight paperwork/flight brief?? OOPS, BIG OOPS!!

Both pilots must've had cranial rectal inversion. Or better yet, get their color vision checked. How? I lined up once with bridge street lights, they were white, caught my mistake, did a go around (helicopter) and shot the approach again.

I’ve never done this myself but it could happen and has. What I don’ understand is how everyone knows about it. My guess is the only ones who recognized the mistake was the Pilots when they were landed and taxing in. Did they want absolution for their sins and confessed? If no one was hurt and nothing damaged, then the rule that covers this is. “What people don’t know won’ hurt them”.

Is it not correct, that when complying with FAR Part 121/135, that runways lights are required to be operative at time of landing (during nighttime hours)? If so, why did they land, or did they forget this requirement?

Company Dispatch gives the crew NOTAMS. Obviously, the crew didn't read them. Did this airport have an instrument approach? If so, why did the crew not set it up and use it as confirmation of an actual runway. Pilots have a tendency to not use All Resources and simply call "airport insight. Why did they line up with blue taxiway lighting? Were ALL the lights out? If so. no lights---no go.

Too bad Han Solo wasn't flying, it wouldn't be a big deal.

In many ways I am surprised this type of error doesn't happen more often. Anytime you have human beings interacting with machines and electronics under all sorts of conditions you will have errors. Considering the huge number of operations everyday just within the borders of the United States the percentage of these events has to be very small. It leaves us the quandary of deciding if it is a system problem or is it a problem that cant be predicted or fixed with system changes. If it isn't a system problem the best we hope for is to learn from this event to prevent a duplication in our own operations.

This shows the shambles the American Airline Industry is in. From beating up people in the cabins to pilots forgetting where to land in an airport. High danger flying there.

I would think that when they were low enough to the ground for their landing lights to shine onto the ground, they would think "Crap, this isn't a runway" and go around.

CTAF is Common Traffic Advisory Frequency.

Did the crew do their training in a Starspeeder 2000 or 3000? That could explain it.

....cue the stale Harrison Ford jokes.

There's a dispatcher explaining what info he or she provided the crew regarding the field CONDITIOND, CT hours and esp NOTAMS..

The rural airport in the Palouse region is the primary air link for its two land-grant universities, Washington State University in Pullman and the University of Idaho in Moscow. Both universities use the airport for jet charters from Alaska Airlines, Frontier Airlines, and Allegiant Air for their intercollegiate athletic teams.

Isn't there a color differentiation between taxiway (blue) and runway (white) edge lights? I am an aircraft buff not a pilot. Would you be able to see this upon approach?

tower? is there a tower there?

Was someone unplugging the "Extension Cord" connecting the power cord in the tower to the runway lights (like in "Airplane")? Sounds like that would be more reliable than the existing system currently in place!

Crew was suspended
http://klewtv.com/news/local/pilots-land-on-taxiway-at-moscow-pullman-airport

(Duplicate Squawk Submitted)

Horizon air lands on Taxiway

Airport staff unaware runway inop. DASH 8 lands on Taxiway which remained lit.

http://www.khq.com/story/37231236/electrical-short-forces-plane-to-land-on-taxiway-at-pullman-moscow-regional-airport