Note that you don't need hills for a problem. Many airports have construction cranes up to 200' high in the airport area. The US uses heliostats along the sou

Note that you don't need hills for a problem. Many airports have construction cranes up to 200' high in the airport area. The US uses heliostats along the southern border (tethered balloons, with multiple guy wires) to at least 1000'. Airliners are moderately tall on the ground, so that's something else you can hit if near enough to the departure end on an adjacent taxiway or runway. There are illusions when flying at night that confuse your sense of bank, so without looking out the window, only instruments would indicate a wrong turn. Look away or get distracted, and you just hit something. In addition, airline pilots aren't test pilots. There is an assumption that systems are unsurprising from one second to the next, and that a checklist can be used if not. An unexpected turn at ground-level would often turn out badly.