On October 28, 2000, at 2050 central daylight time, a Cessna 172, N8611B, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage when it ran off of the end of runway 36 (2,600 feet by 50 feet asphalt), crossed a ditch, and nosed over in a corn field, during a precautionary landing at the Carrollton Memorial Airport (K26), Carrollton, Missouri. According to the pilot, the weather en route was deteriorating and he elected to divert to K26. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was not on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, reported no injuries. The flight originated from the Springfield-Branson Regional Airport, Springfield, Missouri, at about 1915 and was en route to the Trenton Municipal Airport, Trenton, Missouri. In a written statement, the pilot said, "Just north of Carrollton, the ceiling began to deteriorate and I dropped down in altitude as I progressed for several minutes north. When I had reached 1800 feet (ASL) I decided that I was not going to be able to continue. I made a 180-degree turn back south to the Carrollton airport. I flew over the airport and observed all the lights were on except the runway lights. I tried to trigger the lights with my radio but to no avail...." The pilot said that he called 911 on his cellular phone to have the lights turned on. He said that he circled the airport for about 30 minutes before a highway patrol car arrived. He said that he circled until the ceiling had deteriorated to about 400 feet agl and then attempted to land on the unlighted runway. He said, "My touchdown was a little long and I did not think that I would get stopped before the end of the runway. I chose to do a go around and applied power. The plane did not attain sufficient speed to lift off more than a few inches and although I cleared the drainage ditch at the end of the runway, the plane settled back down in the plowed field beyond...." The Carrollton Fire Chief said, in a telephone conversation, that he was at the airport at the time of the accident and that the runway lights were not on. No notices to airmen had been issued regarding the runway lights at the accident airport. A weather report for the Kansas City Downtown Airport, Kansas City, Missouri, located about 52 nautical miles and 257 degrees magnetic from the accident airport, listed the sky condition, at 2054 cdt, as clear with mist. A weather report for the Whiteman Air Force Base, located about 35 nautical miles and 183 degrees magnetic from the accident airport, listed the sky condition, at 2055 cdt, as few clouds at 10,000 feet and broken clouds at 25,000 feet. A weather report for the Rosecrans Memorial Airport, Saint Joseph, Missouri, located about 70 nautical miles and 292 degrees magnetic from the accident airport, listed the sky condition, at 2053 cdt, as broken clouds at 1,300 feet and haze. A weather report for the Kirksville Regional Airport, Kirksville, Missouri, located about 64 nautical miles and 43 degrees magnetic from the accident airport, listed the sky condition, at 2055 cdt, as few clouds at 1,700. The pilot reported no mechanical difficulties in his written report.