Some of you will know who I am. Most probably don't. However, I am the Captain in this event. I haven't been involved in Pprune for many years, but I used to be very involved, for which I offer apologies if appropriate!
It's been fascinating to read the speculation, and very interesting to read some of the factual postings in this thread. I don't take offence at those who question my decisions - all captains' decisions should be challenged and tested to see if they are indeed appropriate and proportionate, and this forum is as reasonable a place for that to happen as any.
For now, I won't be offering any significant justification or explanation. There's likely to be more investigations to be carried out, and I don't want to pre-empt, prejudge or influence any of those, or compromise my ability to speak freely to those who need to hear what I have to say. I'd just like to thank those who have some faith that I had some idea of what I was doing and why, and those who helped me get the job done both on the ground and in the air.
For those who have any relevant expertise, it was a red beam, not a green one. It was indeed reported as and when it happened. The pictures we got show its ground position (which wasn't Legoland as far as I can see), and will hopefully help those in the know to estimate its power and provenance.
As was reported in the news, the FO did receive retinal damage from what appeared to be a 'lucky' passing sweep, but it's not permanent and will heal fully. There was no visual impairment during the flight, but there was no way of knowing (for me) that that would continue to be the case.. The symptoms were slow in making themselves apparent. That's about all I'm prepared to say for now.
For the terminally pedantic, yes, I admit my Pan call was incorrectly phrased!
Last edited by scroggs; 17th Feb 2016 at 01:42.