Hello!
Is that the nomal way of performing VFR flights at night in the US? “follow the shoreline northbound at or below 500 feet.” Where I live and fly, we are not allowed to fly below 500ft unless for landing... When I teach night flying I tell the students not to leave traffic pattern altitude, which usually is 1000ft AGL, until established on final - same as I was taught. As this accident shows, even a minor distraction like changing a transponder code can make one lose those precious 500ft within seconds. And this student was IFR rated, so he must have been able to perform an instrument scan.