Too Dark, Too Low

Perhaps because of its various attractions, night flying presents its own set of challenges. Let the sun go down, and all kinds of aviation-related mischief can ensue. The basic problem, of course, is humans are not well-adapted to seeing and doing complex things in low-visibility conditions. So, we have to compensate.

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Friday, September 20, 2013 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Night flying presents significant visual perception challenges for pilots due to human eye limitations in low-visibility conditions, which can lead to misjudgments of distance and altitude.
A fatal accident occurred when a pilot, on a night visual approach, struck a 100-foot hazard beacon tower located on higher terrain about ¾ mile from the runway threshold.
The accident, which found no mechanical failures, highlights the critical need for pilots to actively compensate for perceptual distortions and be fully aware of terrain and obstacles during night operations, especially given limitations like the absence of a visual approach slope indicator or an obstacle not being in the aircraft's terrain database.

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Because of the human eye’s limitations, the FAA and other authorities include several recommendations designed to minimize their impact. For example, and according to the American Optometric Association, “At night, if runway lights viewed from an approaching aircraft are displaced laterally, the pilot may have the impression that the runway is closer than it really is, because it appears wider. This false perception may result in an early flare and a tendency to land short. Also, the intensity of runway lights may appear to vary, depending on their color and the adaptation states of the eyes. These differences in the brightness of runway lights may lead to false perceptions regarding altitude.”