Crab,
There are more than a few that frequent here that did not have the privilege of doing military flying or experience NVG formation or precision flying using NVG's that others got to enjoy.
Just pointing that out in case that might have been overlooked when they are considering what it must have been like that night....offshore....operating in close proximity to another aircraft with not just limited visual acuity but also a very limited field of view as well all in a different hue of lighting than normal vision.