I saw that report about a 14 year sentence. What concerns me is the potential for someone to have the book thrown at them for accidentally lighting up the belly of a plane.
Say I'm out in the forest pointing out constellations to my boys and a plane passes by, likely nearly perpendicular to the laser, should I be locked up for years? What is the risk to a plane that has a laser pointed at its belly?
I understand that we are talking about idiots near a landing facility shining lasers at cockpits but I don't hear any differentiation between that and say pointing a laser straight up at the underside of an aircraft.
Not that anyone should do that but again, say that happens, accidentally or otherwise, what again is the risk?