Is flying in a plane at night dangerous?

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lil'oleJewler

While I am not a pilot, I am very interested in aviation, and have flown quite alot.

I do not believe you are at any measurably greater risk flying in the dark than you are flying during the day. The reason is the aircraft and aircrews are designed, equipped, and trained to fly in fog, cloud, and dark. You have probably heard about flying by instruments. Well, there is a rating that most pilots get fairly early in their career. It's called an IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) certificate, and they learn to pilot their craft from their instruments alone (this means they can't see out), except when they are leaving or approaching a very brightly lighted runway.

Most pilots do not want to fly only when it's clear so they get their IFR certificate. The professional pilot will have many, many hours flying IFR before you get on his plane. You can trust him. The airline trusts him with millions of dollars worth of aircraft, and the risk of millions of dollars of possible law suits.

In addition, the modern commercial aircraft is very technological. The auto pilots can actually land the aircraft by themselves, night or day. With GPS the plane and it's crew always know just where they are.

While human and mechanical error can happen, I trust the modern aircraft and aircrews, both day and night.

bmwest

It is no more dangerous than the first flight. As a pilot, I can testify that all flights are pretty much the same. Commercial flights are not only filed with the local ATC, but are also guided accordingly (known as IFR or instrument flight rules). As such, when you take off at night or during the day, the only time you are really using your vision is during takeoff and landing. The rest of the time, the pilot in command is flying the plane on instruments. So no worries, your flight will be fine - and as mentioned previously - it will actually be smoother. Enjoy the X-mas lights when landing!

dcgirl

It's no more dangerous than flying in the daytime and actually it's usually a more comfortable ride. Pilots are trained to fly in all sorts of conditions--- light, dark, rainy, windy, etc--- and once you get up to cruising altitude, most of the work is done by the computers anyway. The pilots can use navigational equipment to land and take off even when they can't see--- fog is the most difficult to navigate and regular nighttime isn't a problem for them. The benefit to flying at night is, other planes have already gone along your flight path and reported turbulence and other disturbances in the air that change on a daily or even hourly basis; if there's weather that doesn't show up on a radar, the air traffic controllers can use other planes' reports to help select a smooth flight path for your plane. So flying at night is even better than flying in the daytime because more planes have gone over that path and described the conditions for those who come behind them.

â™¥Springâ™¥

Don't worry. If you fly at night it will be better. You will get some sleep and not even notice what is going on. It is probably more dangerous to fly during the day because of the sun. I have flown about 3 times at night before and it was alright. It would take some air sickness medicine just incase. If you relax you will feel better. The main part is that you will be sleeping so you will be fine. Good Luck!

dezynor

not at all. Although there is not much to see out the window

JOHN C

It is more dangerous, if there is an engine failure, to find a safe place to land. Flying with a full moon helps provide light at night for emergency landings.

molly X

It's not dangerous, don't worry! :)

been_here_and_gone

You're going down, down, down!!!

brittt

Well, I can't fly during the day I get too nervous!
If you take a night flight, the pilot uses lights that are on the front of the plane, like a car, they have head lights. I fly only at night, and I rarely get nervous but it helps to take some DRAMAMINE or some MELATONIN. These are both air sickness meds, but both will make you sleep. I usually take 2-3 and im good for the night. If you get nervous you should probably try that. Theres no more danger flying at night than there is flying during the day. Also try keeping yourself busy during the flight if you dont want to make yourself sleep. listen to music and close the window. you will forget its night time. I hope I helped! If not I hope that someone else does! Have a nice trip!

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