Laser pointers used to blind pilots

http://azstarnet.com/news/national/article_aacb09f3-a62d-594f-ad5a-188ad0ff00b4.html


SAN JOSE, Calif. - On Aug. 12, a Boeing 767 night flight from Hawaii was six miles from Mineta San Jose International Airport when it was struck with a laser beam. The brilliant green light flooded the cockpit like a rock concert spotlight, blinding the pilot and forcing the co-pilot to land the plane alone. The culprit was never found.

Tuesday night, while on a routine helicopter patrol 1,000 feet above the San Jose-Milpitas border, a San Jose police pilot and his Santa Clara County sheriff's aerial spotter were blasted with a green laser light.

They tracked the source to a home, called in ground units and two 22-year-old men were arrested. They may face felony federal charges and, if convicted, prison time. In the back seat of one of the suspect's cars officers found the pen-sized laser pointer purchased from Amazon.com.

These incidents are close-call examples of a quickly growing, dangerous problem. Hundreds of times a year pranksters using powerful laser pointers as cheap as $8.99 are shining their lights at aircraft, endangering flight crews and passengers.

"This needs to be stopped," said San Jose Police Officer Michael Lutticken, who handles counterterrorism projects. "The majority of people who do this are not terrorists. They think of it as entertainment."

Laser strikes have been reported over the world with increasing frequency. During a single night at Seattle-Tacoma airport last year, 12 planes were hit with laser as they were landing. All reportedly had to pull out of their landings and try again.

Federal officials say they are not aware of any crashes caused by laser strikes. But officials say that the problem is growing "exponentially" with the increased power and affordability of laser pointers.

Some kid is going to ruin his life and the lives of hundreds of others doing this.

these 22 year old fuckers need jail time this is fucking nuts little sacks of shit like this piss me off to no avail

Maybe they can look into cockpit glass changes or special goggles that mitigate the intensity of these lights, I have a feeling eventually those devices will be banned because of these incidents.