I find “aiming” the light on a head lamp cumbersome in my experiences but they do work and it really comes down to preferences…
Just easier for me to grab the flashlight and aim based on where I point rather then where my head turns. Kinda hard to aim the light where you want to reach. Also easier to maintain a steadier light on the target (unlit instrument, checklist, reaching for a drink) with a hand held flashlight. Friend of mine uses “fingertip” flashlights which works well with him.
I actually have a lightweight flashlight strapped around my neck for charts and a larger mag light flashlight to illuminate outside wing surfaces for before take off checklist purposes. It’s the bigger one that seems to roll between the seat cushions or between the door and whatever chart I have on the passenger seat no matter how hard I wedge it in it’s place.
With night flying, it’s recommended to keep the instrument lights dim as possible so your eyes are adjusted to the dark better to see other blinking strobes, red, green and white lights that may share the airspace with you.
In otherwords, the way I understand it, the less light to contaminate your night vision, the better. (Dont get me started on the benefits of “red lights” as they don’t work for me, I need white lights!)
So you don’t keep your flashlight on unless you absolutely need light for a task.
Bright lights aren’t necessary in the dark anyway… I guess because of better contrast at night. Nowadays I dim my PC screen at night, and in the jeep, the screen on the center console automatically dims at night and gets bright in the day.
Just thinking of a light that I have here… maybe it would work for pilots? It has an adhesive back and all you do is push it to turn it on and off. You could put it on the ceiling.
The route he took is notorious for Mt waves and turbulence, and factor in a low time pilot, dark night conditions (not much in the way of towns out there).
As with most accidents there is a cascade of events that lead up to the crash.
