DSNDING INTO DEST ARPT; RPTR (PVT PLT) DSNDED CLOSE TO SURROUNDING HILLS. RPTR WAS RETURNING LATE AT NIGHT AND BECAME COMFORTABLE WITH THE DSCNT INTO THE FAMILIAR ARPT WHEN HE REALIZED HE WAS DSNDING BELOW SURROUNDING TERRAIN. ALSO; RPTR WAS NONCURRENT IN NIGHT LNDGS.

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STARTED OUT RETURN TRIP AROUND XX00 AM. ALTHOUGH THE WHOLE TRIP WAS CAREFULLY FLT PLANNED AND I CHKED THE WX TO ENSURE CLR SKIES AND A FULL MOON; I NEGLECTED TO ACTUALLY VERIFY MY RECENT NIGHT LNDG EXPERIENCE. I REMEMBERED I HAD LAST FLOWN AT NIGHT IN APR (LESS THAN 90 DAYS AGO). IT TURNS OUT I ONLY MADE 1 LNDG THAT NIGHT; THOUGH. THE PREVIOUS NIGHT EXPERIENCE HAD BEEN ON 2 FLTS IN MAR (5 AND 1 LNDGS; RESPECTIVELY); BOTH OF WHICH WERE MORE THAN 90 DAYS BEFORE THE FLT IN QUESTION. THIS IS HOW I CAME TO FLY WITH PAX AT NIGHT WITHOUT BEING CURRENT ACCORDING TO FAR 61.57(D). IT WAS DUMB; I SIMPLY CARELESSLY FORGOT TO CHK MY LOGBOOK. THE MORE POTENTIALLY LETHAL SAFETY ISSUE CAME AS I WAS APCHING TO LAND AT RHV. I HAD SET OUT FROM FRESNO PLANNING TO FLY VFR AT 6500 FT. ZOA; WHICH WAS SUGGESTED FOR FLT FOLLOWING BY FRESNO TWR; SAID I WOULD BE BELOW THEIR AREA OF RADAR COVERAGE FOR ANOTHER 20 MI; ROUGHLY UNTIL REACHING PXN. WHEN ASKED; THE CTLR SAID AT 8500 FT I MOST LIKELY WOULD BE WITHIN RADAR COVERAGE. A HIGHER ALT WOULD ALSO BE BENEFICIAL FLYING OVER HILLY TERRAIN AT NIGHT; EVEN WITH THE FULL MOON; SO I CLBED TO 8500 FT FOR THE BULK OF THE TRIP. I WAS WARY OF DETERIORATING NIGHT VISION AS AN EARLY WARNING SIGN OF POSSIBLE HYPOXIA BUT ALL SEEMED WELL. AFTER PASSING PXN VOR; APCHING THE BAY AREA; I WAS SWITCHED OVER TO BAY APCH AND STARTED A DSCNT TO 4500 FT. I WANTED TO MAKE A GRADUAL DSCNT AT 500 FPM OR SO TO AVOID DISCOMFORT TO MY PAX. I REACHED 4500 FT AT A POINT I ESTIMATED WOULD BE ABOUT RIGHT TO COMMENCE A FURTHER DSCNT TO 3000 FT AS A MINIMUM ALT TO CROSS THE HILLS S/SE OF RHV. THE HILLS ARE ABOUT 2500-2600 FT HIGH IN THE AREA; DEPENDING ON WHERE THEY ARE CROSSED; AND 3000 FT IS A COMFORTABLE ALT TO CROSS SAFELY AND STILL BE LOW ENOUGH TO DSND COMFORTABLY INTO RHV. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT WAS FATIGUE; INATTN DUE TO THE PROLONGED DSCNT (I HAD BEEN DSNDING ALMOST NONSTOP FOR THE LAST 10-12 MINS); OR SLOWED REACTION DUE TO HYPOXIA FROM THE FLT AT 8500 FT (THE TOTAL DURATION OF FLT SO FAR WAS ABOUT 1:20) BUT I SUDDENLY NOTICED THE GND OF THE HILLS OUT MY L WINDOW. I CHKED MY ALTIMETER AND FOUND; MUCH TO MY SURPRISE; THAT I WAS AT ABOUT 2700 FT! I HAD BEEN COMFORTABLY DSNDING INTO MY FAMILIAR ARPT ENVIRONMENT; FOCUSED ON THE CITY AND THE ARPT AHEAD; AND 'BUSTED' MY PLANNED SAFE ALT OF 3000 FT BY 300 FT! I IMMEDIATELY INCREASED PWR AND CLBED BACK TO 3000 FT; KEEPING A CAREFUL EYE ON THE TERRAIN AROUND ME; AND LANDED UNEVENTFULLY SHORTLY AFTERWARDS AT RHV. I'M GLAD I PLANNED MY FLT FOR A NIGHT WITH A FULL MOON. I'D HATE TO HAVE FOUND MYSELF ANOTHER CFIT STATISTIC. ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT; NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES; COMPLACENCY CAN KILL!