Sorry, I admit I'm old school.... all this stuff about black holes and no lights until the REIL's seems irrelevant. I'm presuming that they were cleared for some sort of instrument approach. Black holes and lack of adequate visual references are why we have instrument approaches in the first place. Even if they were cleared for a visual, especially at night it would be unthinkable that they wouldn't have had some sort of instrument approach briefed and set up. Those are hard altitudes at specific DME's for a reason, and the PAPI's are there for the same reason: obstacles between you and the end of the runway - including terrain.