Laser yob ‘could have brought down helicopter’
Paul Britton
January 26, 2011
A teenage yob put a police helicopter at risk by shining a laser pen at it. The 16-year-old’s conviction is the latest in a string of recent prosecutions over the offence, which police chiefs say can paralyse aircraft and endanger their crew.
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, targeted Greater Manchester Police’s force helicopter, codenamed India 99, as it flew over Higher Blackley on January 14.
He repeatedly shone a bright, green-coloured beam from the laser pen at it, Manchester magistrates court was told.
Prosecutor Satpal Roth said it caused the pilot to be momentarily dazed at 15,000ft and resulted in him losing his night vision. The helicopter’s high-tech instruments were also temporarily impaired, the court heard.
Ms Roth said the pilot and two other crew members on board radioed police colleagues on the ground and the aircraft’s systems were able to direct officers to the source of the beam.
The boy was arrested a short time later.
He pleaded guilty to acting in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft.
The teenager also admitted a separate public order offence after he swore at officers attending an unrelated incident the day before.
He was fined £250 for both offences and told the court: "I feel stupid and I regret it."
Michael Lyons, chairman of the bench, ordered that the laser should be destroyed and told the teenager his actions could have had ‘potentially devastating consequences’.
He said: "The shining of a laser pen at a helicopter is only going to do one thing. Potentially it is going to bring that helicopter down from the sky."
The teenager said he got the laser pen from a friend. Gemma McGhee, defending, said his actions were ‘foolish and reckless’.
She said: "He did not realise that it was such a powerful instrument.
"He did not even think that the beam would reach up to the helicopter.
"He fully accepts that if the pilot had lost control, anything could have happened."
The court heard the offence could carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Laser yob ?could have brought down helicopter? - Manchester Evening News