The goggles will allow you see in the dark...however when you get to the point you cannot see with the goggles I can assure you there is no visiblility without the goggles.
I have sat in the aircraft as a three foot hover within a small clearing in the forest on a officially "dark" night. Minimum natural light due to no moon and overcast sky. We operated without any lights and the circuits and landing/hovering/departure were all good fun. But..at a hover...flip the goggles up and peer outside with the MK I eyes....and one could not even see the ground all of three feet away. That is dark.
Goggles will let you fly into situations that ultimately will end as that accident report suggest or you will have to be able to continue the flight as an IIMC/IFR flight. Thus the goggles can contribute to more accidents if VMC flight is continued into IMC conditions.
The other thought to keep, is what do you do if you have goggle failure (rare...but a consideration) and you are deep into the mountains and have no visible horizion or cannot see the terrain?
Personally, I love goggle flying.....the thought of flying nights without them scares me to tears! It is true they only give you the rough equivalent of 20/40 vision with a mere 40 degree field of view......but what is your vision like on a really dark night without them?
