Dark Night Conditions

Ive always enjoyed flying at night. Theres usually a lot less traffic, the ATC frequency is quieter and its rare to be delayed for an approach, landing or takeoff. Sunsets can be quite amazing from a personal airplane, and Ive been fortunate enough to witness a few sunrises, too. Owing to day-job schedules and airplane availability, most of my instrument training happened at night and, even with all that going on, Im by no means an expert on flying in the dark.

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Thursday, July 20, 2017 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The article highlights the inherent dangers of night flying, particularly "black hole approaches" and the high risk of Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT), advocating for pilots to fly at higher altitudes and utilize IFR charts for planning.
It details a fatal 2015 accident where a non-instrument-rated pilot crashed a Cessna 172 into mountainous terrain in Montana during a dark night Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flight, killing both occupants.
Key contributing factors included extremely dark conditions (minimal moon, moonset), reduced visibility from haze and smoke, mountain obscuration, and the pilot's limited night and mountain flying experience. The NTSB determined the probable cause was the pilot's decision to fly in these conditions, leading to an inability to see terrain and probable spatial disorientation.

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I’ve always enjoyed flying at night. There’s usually a lot less traffic, the ATC frequency is quieter and it’s rare to be delayed for an approach, landing or takeoff. Sunsets can be quite amazing from a personal airplane, and I’ve been fortunate enough to witness a few sunrises, too. Owing to day-job schedules and airplane availability, most of my instrument training happened at night and, even with all that going on, I’m by no means an expert on flying in the dark.

In fact, landing back at my current home airport at night is a textbook “black hole approach.” I don’t like it at all, and try to arrive in daylight. That doesn’t always work out, leading to maybe one for-real night landing a year at home plate, along with the rest of them.