There are no two ways about it: Flying at night not only adds several risk factors; it also reduces our risk mitigation options. Suitable landing locations for emergencies are harder to see. Overall visibility is reduced in most cases also. Even when the flight is technically VFR, in many places where darkness rules the night-such as big bodies of water, large expanses of trees or desert, and mountains-a pilot is pretty much navigating IFR. The use of electrical systems at night takes on a significantly more prominent importance than it might in the daytime if a pilot encounters a failure of an electrical system.
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