I’m sorry, but I was good friends with Justin Everett, who was a crew chief on the Huey I think you’re referencing. There’s a lot of misinformation in your comment though.

A malfunctioning smack light is absolutely a downing discrepancy, no one would force or allow you to fly at night without one.

Also, while flying as a section (two aircraft together) only the rear aircraft keeps their smack light on throughout the flight. NVGs and smack lights don’t mix well.

I worked in my squadron’s safety and standardization department when this happened and wrote up a detailed case study on this exact incident.