L@ser attacks on Aircraft
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A bit of PR advice
A bit of PR advice: Who controls the terminology controls the conversation. Consistently referring to them as "L@ser Blinding Weapons" rather than as "L@ser pointers" or simply "L@sers" might gain some traction....
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And still it goes on,I found this worrying article in AvHerald yesterday.
Lets hope the injuries are not serious and also that the morons who perpetrated this act are dealt with severely.
Accident: Fedex A306 at Albuquerque on Feb 8th 2015, laser sends pilots to hospital
A Fedex Federal Express Airbus A300-600, registration N691FE performing flight FX-386 from Memphis,TN to Albuquerque,NM (USA), was on approach to Albuquerque's runway 03 when a l@ser beam illuminated the cockpit causing eye injuries to both of the pilots. The crew managed a safe landing on runway 03 nonetheless.
The FAA reported both pilots were taken to hospital with eye injuries
The FAA reported both pilots were taken to hospital with eye injuries
Accident: Fedex A306 at Albuquerque on Feb 8th 2015, laser sends pilots to hospital
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The BALPA forum has a post eluding to a "serious incident involving a powerful laser" that occurred at Heathrow recently. It doesn't go into details as it states a police investigation is ongoing, but it would seem the problem is getting worse. Hope the 2 Americans make a full recovery.
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The BALPA forum has a post eluding to a "serious incident involving a powerful laser" that occurred at Heathrow recently. It doesn't go into details as it states a police investigation is ongoing, but it would seem the problem is getting worse. Hope the 2 Americans make a full recovery.
This should be regarded as attempted murder. 
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$900 anti-laser glasses?
Are these the answer to the l@ser strike problem?
ST Laserstrike AVIATOR series | ST Laserstrike
Are these the answer to the l@ser strike problem?
ST Laserstrike AVIATOR series | ST Laserstrike
L@sers attacks on Aircraft
The glasses only Cover a specific range of Laserlight, so you're not sure, having the right glases....
Colorvision is impaired also, problem with colorcodes in a modern cockpit, where displays give information with colorcodes. I.e. autopilot- coupled green, degraded amber and so on.
Colorvision is impaired also, problem with colorcodes in a modern cockpit, where displays give information with colorcodes. I.e. autopilot- coupled green, degraded amber and so on.
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This should be regarded as attempted murder.
I wonder how much it would cost to develop a little laser-beam-following missile to be mounted under the Radome? It would only need a small payload - perhaps half an ounce of C4...
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good news from Mancheste
A 47-year-old man who shone a laser at a police helicopter leaving the pilot "disorientated by the intense light" in Greater Manchester has been jailed.
Andrew Paul Holden, of Chapelfield in Radcliffe, admitted endangering an aircraft at Bolton Crown Court.
The National Police Air Service (NPAS) was deployed over Radcliffe on 13 October 2014 when the laser was shone into the cockpit. No-one was injured.
Holden was sentenced to six months in prison on Friday.
BBC News - Radcliffe man jailed for shining laser at police helicopter
I wonder if airlines will ban him from using them?
Andrew Paul Holden, of Chapelfield in Radcliffe, admitted endangering an aircraft at Bolton Crown Court.
The National Police Air Service (NPAS) was deployed over Radcliffe on 13 October 2014 when the laser was shone into the cockpit. No-one was injured.
Holden was sentenced to six months in prison on Friday.
BBC News - Radcliffe man jailed for shining laser at police helicopter
I wonder if airlines will ban him from using them?
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This week, two men in Central California were indicted on laser strike charges.
“I’m so sorry. I’m stupid,” says man who allegedly fired laser at police
?I?m so sorry. I?m stupid,? says man who allegedly fired laser at police | Ars Technica
?I?m so sorry. I?m stupid,? says man who allegedly fired laser at police | Ars Technica
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Other guy confesses in trial of man accused of laser attack
Sloppy police work, and then a courtroom moment worthy of a TV drama: Police got the wrong guy, but the real perp, struck by pangs of guilt, confesses.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...icle-1.2148319
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...icle-1.2148319
Man gets 2-year prison term for shining laser at DPS copter - Houston Chronicle
The judge put this guy away for 2 years.
Could have been longer, should have been longer.
At least this case didn't take a lot of years to resolve.
The judge put this guy away for 2 years.
Could have been longer, should have been longer.
At least this case didn't take a lot of years to resolve.
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Having endured a session of emergency laser eye surgery to repair a couple of retinal tears yesterday I would like to add some observations. The light flashes during the surgery were the brightest thing I have ever been subjected to, easily many times worse than having yours eyes wedged open looking at the midday sun. My entire visual field was filled with intense yellow and green light with red dots and several radiating very thin white lines. After half a dozen pulses, a dull pressure ache began to develop at the back of my eye. Not exactly painful in the conventional sense, but I imagine the experience to be similar to watching a nuclear weapon test go off. Blinking or turning away isn't an option while the procedure is underway. There is a lens stuck on the front of your eye and if you move, the laser will hit the wrong part of the retina. No messing about sugar coating what can go wrong with my consultant. I suppose there were 30 or so pulses involved in the treatment. I lost count after a dozen or so and quite frankly, just wished it was all over and done with because the ache and sensation of pressure at the back of my eye was getting pretty bad.
Now this was all being done by a class 4 medical laser being fired an inch from my eye. I cannot conceive that any class 1 or 2 laser pointer would create anything like as much visual disturbance from some distance away.
After the treatment was finished, I was left with a pink tinge to the vision in that eye compared with the untreated eye. It wore off within a minute or so. Returning to the car ten minutes later, I noted that I could still see well enough to drive even looking solely through the laser treated eye, with a completely wide open pupil. I should point out that my daughter actually drove to and from the hospital!
The following day, I can discern no adverse effects of the treatment, nor any blind spots in my visual field. There are some residual effects left as a result of the original tears, floating objects in the eye, but these should disappear in time.
The point I think I am trying to make is that should you be temporarily blinded by a laser or other very intense light, recovery of normal vision is comparatively rapid, especially if you can blink or turn away from the light source. A couple of minutes should be enough to see relatively normally again.
Just my personal experience and observations. I certainly won't be tempted to look down the path of even a low powered laser except for medical purposes.
If you do somehow manage to blink during the procedure, the laser will not bore a hole through your eyelid, just create a burn on the skin. Reassuring to know.
Now this was all being done by a class 4 medical laser being fired an inch from my eye. I cannot conceive that any class 1 or 2 laser pointer would create anything like as much visual disturbance from some distance away.
After the treatment was finished, I was left with a pink tinge to the vision in that eye compared with the untreated eye. It wore off within a minute or so. Returning to the car ten minutes later, I noted that I could still see well enough to drive even looking solely through the laser treated eye, with a completely wide open pupil. I should point out that my daughter actually drove to and from the hospital!
The following day, I can discern no adverse effects of the treatment, nor any blind spots in my visual field. There are some residual effects left as a result of the original tears, floating objects in the eye, but these should disappear in time.
The point I think I am trying to make is that should you be temporarily blinded by a laser or other very intense light, recovery of normal vision is comparatively rapid, especially if you can blink or turn away from the light source. A couple of minutes should be enough to see relatively normally again.
Just my personal experience and observations. I certainly won't be tempted to look down the path of even a low powered laser except for medical purposes.
If you do somehow manage to blink during the procedure, the laser will not bore a hole through your eyelid, just create a burn on the skin. Reassuring to know.
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The temporary airport at Burning Man....
After the permanent injury of a staff member last year at the Burning Man event, all handheld lasers have been banned; additionally, no lasers on mobile art pieces. The folks who run the temporary airport there (the event takes place on a giant dry lake bed @ around 3800' ASL) expressed a lot of relief. It's virtually impossible to nab someone who is playing with these devices at the event, but hopefully the message about the ban gets out to folks and there's less screwing around with these dangerous toys.
The point I think I am trying to make is that should you be temporarily blinded by a l@ser or other very intense light, recovery of normal vision is comparatively rapid, especially if you can blink or turn away from the light source. A couple of minutes should be enough to see relatively normally again.
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Recent Incident
I got zapped on the climb out from Oxford one evening last month. They were closed by the time I was back on the ground. When I called the following day, they said to report it to the police. I did, and told them I have a photo that identifes exactly where the beam originated from. Not heard back from them in the intervening 4 weeks.
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Laser Attack at Heathrow
A British Airways pilot has reportedly been left with significant damage to his eyesight after a “military-strength” laser was shone into the cockpit of his plane landing at Heathrow, in what appears to be the most serious laser attack to date in the UK.
BA pilot's eye damaged by 'military' laser shone into cockpit at Heathrow | World news | The Guardian
BA pilot's eye damaged by 'military' laser shone into cockpit at Heathrow | World news | The Guardian
More than likely, the perpetrator will reoffend (not like they have much sense in the first place) and hopefully the next time, the police helicopter will see.
Then we can quite literally have an eye for an eye. This could quite easily mean the end of someone's career, after how many years training and building up hours and debt? Only for some deadbeat to shine a laser at you for a laff and leave you with damaged eyesight and a revoked medical. Not to mention the safety of the airliner...
The mind boggles
Something not quite right here.
British Airways is "investigating the claims" ?
So BA hadn't been aware, until the BALPA survey, that one of its pilots had been out of action for six months, or why ?
There's more to this than meets the eye (npi).
British Airways is "investigating the claims" ?
So BA hadn't been aware, until the BALPA survey, that one of its pilots had been out of action for six months, or why ?
There's more to this than meets the eye (npi).
DaveR
First I've heard of it but just my twopence worth - Jim McAuslan, the Balpa general secretary, is generally careful and considered in what he says so personally having read his comments I'd be pretty sure the incident and injury did happen. However reading what is in the quotes I don't think he mentions it was BA, so one option was perhaps it was another UK airline.
Knowing how internal comms can work, or not, I suspect that if someone in the BA media department/press relations office was asked for an instant comment on the incident they quite possibly and quite genuinely had no knowledge of the laser attack.
First I've heard of it but just my twopence worth - Jim McAuslan, the Balpa general secretary, is generally careful and considered in what he says so personally having read his comments I'd be pretty sure the incident and injury did happen. However reading what is in the quotes I don't think he mentions it was BA, so one option was perhaps it was another UK airline.
Knowing how internal comms can work, or not, I suspect that if someone in the BA media department/press relations office was asked for an instant comment on the incident they quite possibly and quite genuinely had no knowledge of the laser attack.
Last edited by wiggy; 24th Nov 2015 at 08:26.