Night Currency and Emergencies

To carry passengers at night, you must have made three takeoffs and three full-stop landings within the preceding 90 days, and those must fall in the period from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise, in the same category and class of aircraft. Note the two different definitions of "night" that appear in the regulations: position lights are required from sunset to sunrise, but the passenger-carrying currency window is the tighter one-hour-after to one-hour-before period, and the landings must be to a full stop. If the engine fails at night you fly the same emergency as by day, just with fewer cues: maintain aircraft control, establish best glide, and select the best available landing area — weighing terrain, obstacles, wind, and any known open areas rather than simply steering for lights, which can mean populated or obstructed ground. Run the engine-failure checklist and use the landing light as appropriate per your POH and CFI guidance. Control and a stabilized glide always come first.