I’ve never worn — or evn seen — a flight-quailified night vision rig, BUT I’ll speculate they aren’t a “wide angke” view.
Can any real-life MIL pilots comment on this?
Could tunnel vision be a contributing factor?
You're ASS-U-Me-ing they were under NODs, a fact not presently in evidence.
You don't fly into a brightly-lit aerodrome wearing NODs. And you don't fly around with your anti-collision lights on under NODs for the same reason (and the 'copters ac lights were visible in the video). It's not about stealth, it's about impeding the operation of the NODs.
FWIW, FOV in NODs (except the 4-tube gizmos the Snake eaters use) typically is about 45°, whereas normal human FOV is about 180°x120°. And best-case visual acuity when wearing them is about 20-30.
Back in the Stone Ages when the military first started learning to fly wearing NODs (when the only ones available had been designed for use by infantrymen), before an NVG mission the crew would take a piece of duct tape, poke a pinhole in it and use it to cover the a/c’s position lights (with the pinhole roughly at the apex).
Notice I said “position” lights, not anti-collision lights. Because even the non-flashing red, green and white position lights put out so much light they interfere with normal NOD operation. Flashing ac lights? Fuggedabout it.
Even with just the pinhole there was adequate light for other NODs pilots to see you, and the military segregated training areas between those using NODs and those not, because without NODs you could never see such a faint light as the pinhole emitted. And if you were under NODs you stayed far, far away from anything with standard ac and/or position lights on because the intensity would be blinding under NODs. Not to mention they couldn’t see you, so it was hazardous to get close to them.
Now military aircraft have extremely dim blue-green electroluminescent panel position lights and infrared anti-collision lights they switch on under NODs.
If anything brighter than a pinhole from a rather anemic incandescent bulb can overpower NODs, imagine what runway and taxiway and obstacle lights and the rotating beacon would do to them.
What happens if you are wearing night vision goggles and a bright light is shined directly at you ?????
It’s like looking directly at the Sun. Both pilot and copilot were wearing these goggles, from what I’ve read.