What should a pilot check when planning a night cross-country flight?

When planning a night cross-country flight, checking the status of airport lighting systems is crucial for ensuring safety. Night flying presents unique challenges, as visibility is significantly reduced compared to daytime operations. Adequate lighting at departure, en route, and destination airports is essential for safe takeoff, navigation, and landing.

If the lighting systems are not operational or are malfunctioning, it could lead to difficulties in identifying runways and taxiways, increasing the risk of an accident. Knowing which airports have adequate lighting can allow the pilot to plan for potential diversions if necessary. This aspect of preparation is specifically important at night, as many visual cues that would be present during the day are absent, making lighting systems a fundamental part of flight safety in night operations.

While all the other choices—availability of alternate airports, weather forecasts for the route, and fuel stations along the route—are indeed important considerations for flight planning, the status of airport lighting systems is particularly critical for night operations and can directly impact the flight's safety.