An R44 instructor pilot and his student suffered an near midair collision with another aircraft as t...

Narrative:

Instrument training flight conducted at night in VMC. Student under the hood. Altitude is approximate we were descending; and my eyes were outside the cockpit. An instrument student and I...were not on an instrument practice approach but simply practicing aircraft control on the way back to ZZZ; while I provided headings for the student to follow. We had been in contact with center for VFR flight following; but had just canceled flight following to contact CTAF for our full-stop landing. Before canceling flight following; center informed us of two aircraft between our 11 and 1 o'clock. I reported both aircraft in sight; as I was able to spot them. Center then issued a general advisory that there were multiple targets around ZZZ. After the traffic reports; we switched to CTAF and I made a position report. One of the aircraft center had given us was flying the opposite direction on our right; so I took controls (as the student was still under the hood); and started a left turn to give more space between us. This traffic was no factor. As I turned left; I saw an aircraft fly directly beneath us. Due to the lack of light it is difficult for me to say how far above the other aircraft we were. My best estimation is between 100-300 feet. We were heading southbound; the other aircraft was heading west-southwest. At this time we were approximately 4-5 miles north-northwest of ZZZ. Another airport is approximately 10 nm north of ZZZ; with a 5 nm radius class D airspace. The aircraft we flew over attempted to contact us on CTAF moments later and according to them had just switched from tower to ZZZ CTAF. Traffic congestion near airspace boundaries-fixation on the traffic in sight. What can be done: continued attention brought to the need to see and avoid other traffic. Careful route consideration for entering and exiting airport environments. Maintaining vigilance.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An R44 instructor pilot and his student suffered an NMAC with another aircraft as they were approaching their non-towered destination at night.

Narrative: Instrument training flight conducted at night in VMC. Student under the hood. Altitude is approximate we were descending; and my eyes were outside the cockpit. An instrument student and I...were not on an instrument practice approach but simply practicing aircraft control on the way back to ZZZ; while I provided headings for the student to follow. We had been in contact with Center for VFR flight following; but had just canceled flight following to contact CTAF for our full-stop landing. Before canceling flight following; Center informed us of two aircraft between our 11 and 1 o'clock. I reported both aircraft in sight; as I was able to spot them. Center then issued a general advisory that there were multiple targets around ZZZ. After the traffic reports; we switched to CTAF and I made a position report. One of the aircraft Center had given us was flying the opposite direction on our right; so I took controls (as the student was still under the hood); and started a left turn to give more space between us. This traffic was no factor. As I turned left; I saw an aircraft fly directly beneath us. Due to the lack of light it is difficult for me to say how far above the other aircraft we were. My best estimation is between 100-300 feet. We were heading southbound; the other aircraft was heading west-southwest. At this time we were approximately 4-5 miles north-northwest of ZZZ. Another airport is approximately 10 nm north of ZZZ; with a 5 nm radius Class D airspace. The aircraft we flew over attempted to contact us on CTAF moments later and according to them had just switched from tower to ZZZ CTAF. Traffic congestion near airspace boundaries-Fixation on the traffic in sight. What can be done: Continued attention brought to the need to see and avoid other traffic. Careful route consideration for entering and exiting airport environments. Maintaining vigilance.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1222062
Time
Date	201411
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Robinson R44
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Descent
Route In Use	Visual Approach
Flight Plan	None
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer
Person 1
Function	Instructor Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Flight Instructor
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 108 Flight Crew Total 414 Flight Crew Type 414
Events
Anomaly	Conflict NMAC
Miss Distance	Horizontal 0 Vertical 200

An R44 instructor pilot and his student suffered an near midair collision with another aircraft as they were approaching their non-towered destination at night.