ImageGear

Laser scanning

Heading +/- 300 downwind for right turn onto 09L and overhead Bracknell last night the aircraft was "painted" ?, "Scanned" ? several times by a powerful l@ser from a location on the NNW edge of Bracknell. It was brilliant blue and so bright I was forced to look away.

Is this "painting" of aircraft a regular occurence and surely could not this interfere with night vision or worse?

Imagegear

sharpshot

And worse.........

If you look at AIC 36/2004, Mauve 108 you will see that when a high powered l@ser is tested, the restriction goes from the Sfc to unlimited.

lemon

Have you not noticed on the underside of all aircraft now is a small barcode. This is scanned on approach into Heathrow for accurate tracking of aircraft hulls in and out of the airport.

Cerberus

Lemon,

Does it beep and give the price too?

PAXboy

Now I understand why we have to do so many circuits on approach ... it's because the scanner did not grab the barcode the first time!

Seriously, this is probably teenage boys that have 'graduated' from throwing stones off bridges at trains. Locating the source will be extremely dificult. However, if it dows happen again, then a series of reports (location and direction of a/c) approx direction of source and time of 'hit' could be built up by BAA and the Police.

HEATHROW DIRECTOR

There used to be a cloud searchlight in the Winkfield area, but I guess you guys would know the difference..

Silberfuchs

Laser weapons to "blind" (dazzle) pilots are well known in miltary circles. They specifically effect and are targeted at low flying aircraft using NVGs.

I wouldnt be quite so sure as to right this one off as a joke and would report it.

The correct l@ser is a very serious threat to our safety.

If youre getting a focused beam at 5-6000ft its a very powerful l@ser.

There is a Geneva Convention about the use of l@sers to "intentionally" blind you. Here is a quote:

Article 1 of the Geneva Convention's Protocol on Blinding l@ser Weapons has laudable aims. It states, "It is prohibited to employ l@ser weapons specifically designed, as their sole combat function or as one of their combat functions, to cause permanent blindness to unenhanced vision."

But Article 3 opens the door to l@sers that blind _ so long as that was not their aim. It states: "Blinding as an incidental or collateral effect of the legitimate military employment of l@ser systems, including l@ser systems used against optical equipment, is not covered by the prohibition of this Protocol".

This gives a far better description of the capabilities:
http://www.helsinki.fi/~norrena/war/laser.htm

Spitoon

And a UK CAP on the subject.

May help with contacts to report it to.

ScienceDoc

Hmmm...as blue l@sers are not that easy to get and use I would suggest that it was some kind of searchlight.

A green l@ser could have been used. But they are nothing for kids (too expensive at least). Example (which looks blue but is actually green...):

(Image by University of Kaiserslautern)

Correction: Blue l@sers (Argon) are easy to get. Sorrry, I had thought about semiconductor type l@ser...

Desk-pilot

Not a nice thought but could this have been some kind of targeting device? Many modern rifles etc are equipped with (usually red) l@ser sights.

Desk-pilot

ImageGear

Definitely a l@ser, around 6500' leaving Ockham and directed at the aircraft. (IIRC it was pulsed twice, each time for +/- 3 seconds over a period of 10 seconds and then off. ) It did not reoccur. It could have been someone playing with an outdoor l@ser light show unit but this is speculation on my part.
Thanks for the replies, it has been reported.

Carl Rawson

Joking aside I think that you were right to report this incident imagegear. We all know of the ability of l@sers to blind, if only temporarily. Ask yourself. Would we have walked away if both of us were blinded by this?
With Al-Quaeda being a real and present danger it pays to put this into the hands of the relevant security services.
Well done I say!
It may well have been kids playing.
...But what if it wasn't?

Topofthestack

Glad you reported it but there is a plant research station (Jealott's Hill) with extensive greehouses (and very powerful lighting) just about the point you mention.

Barcoding aircraft, now that is an interesting idea! Perhaps we could use it instead of radar; just have a reader twirling around at LHR instead of pumping out all those electrons? Just think, anyone who didn't get scanned could go to Customer Services in a separate holding area until they were sorted out! We could even deduct the route charges from your debit card immediately after shutdown.

I really like this idea; must progress it further!

lasernigel

If I could possibly add my 2 penny worth having worked on l@sers since 1978.
To get a focused beam at 5000 - 6000 ft would also take some pretty complex optics and high powers,in most part out of reach of normal Joe Bloggs.
Blue l@sers do exist and in fact were one of the first gas l@sers,these are extensively used in the entertainment industry where they then filter out the blue component to give green light.
These blue l@sers are Argon l@sers with a fairly wide beamwidth of 488 - 518 nM.
Since working on l@sers in the military,medical and now industrial fields,I have never condoned their use in confined places e.g. discos etc, as although the blink reflex will in most cases protect the eye there are too many variables to make this theory usable.
As stated before there are rules and regulations in the use of l@sers and these should be adhered to at all times.
Unfortunately since the advent of e-bay etc there are a lot of old medical and scientific systems available to people who would think it great fun to make your plane glow on it's approach.
This should be stopped before an accident happens and the only way do this is to get HSE informed.