Near end of flight in the dark (5)
I believe the answer is:
night
'the dark' is the definition.
(night is a kind of dark)
'near end of flight' is the wordplay.
'near' becomes 'nigh' ('nigh' can be a synonym of 'near'**).
'end of' suggests the final letters.
The final letter of 'flight' is 't'.
'nigh'+'t'='NIGHT'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for night that I've seen before include "Time for bed" , "''Twas the ... before Christmas, when all through the house / Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse''" , "End of the day" , "Ignorance" , "Period of darkness" .)