FAA Reports a dozen aircraft hit by l.a.s.e.r.s

[vapilot2004]

The Wednesday evening incidents included 8 commercial flights coming into EWR, 3 into LGA, and 1 Coast Guard aircraft reported an attack while flying over Ocean City, NJ.

NJ . COM News (http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2015/07/bliding_green_lasers_aimed_at_11_flights_over_nj_faa_says.ht ml)

With the unique properties of l..a.ser light, such as small range of wavelength, tight beam width, and phase lockstep, one wonders if some sort of adaptive cockpit glass might be a solution.

[Doors to Automatic]

Just out of interest why are you using full stops within the main subject word of this thread?

[ricardian]

typing l.a.s.e.r. without full stops produces l@ser

[vapilot2004]

Yes, l.a.s.e.r is a strange word here at PPruNe. As an aside, it is an acronym, so full stop might be a marginally acceptable way to represent it.

[No Fly Zone]

In this case, I don't care how you spell the long or short (acronym) form; we know that you mean!
'Firing' a LASER at an aircraft, is a criminal offense. Since doing so obviously endangers lives, when the SOBs are caught and convicted, no less that one year of mandatory jail time should be required.
Regardless of IFR/VFR status, on a Big Airplane or a tiny one, a temporarily blinded pilot cannot fly properly. Is this different from firing .50 cal rounds into B747/777/A380 engines?
Frankly, I'd opt for a longer mandatory prison sentence, but that is not the 'new, fluffy and friendly rehab model,' that we follow. With lead or lights, shooting at airplanes is not acceptable behavior. Ever!:=

[jugofpropwash]

I wonder how much of this is malicious and how much is just dumb teenagers? I could definitely picture kids playing "I wonder if I can hit the moving target" while having no idea how what appears to be a tiny beam of light can light up a cockpit. I know it's been on the news lately, but how many kids watch the news?

I would hope that these things are being sold with a huge warning on the box about not pointing them at moving vehicles.

[Landflap]

Used to buy them by the box load from Pat-Pong and they were very popular with my kids & their friends. All sensible enough not to point at eyes or moving targets etc. Many IP's used them for class-room work too although I preferred those long pointy sticks. Are these the same things we are talking about here? I never thought the Pat-pong versions were dangerous and I had a miniature version on my key ring for ages until an Eagle eyed Security Officer at LHR confiscated it. He reckoned that if a Hijacker got into the cockpit, got into my flightbag, got into the zipped pocket where I kept the keys and then zapped me in the eyes with my miniature laser torch.............................I would be history .

Blimey, why is my version of laser coming out a l@ser after sending too ?

[vapilot2004]

Since 2012, the US has had a fairly tough law in place with penalties up to 5 years in prison for knowingly pointing a laser device at an aircraft. It is now estimated by the FAA that there are an average of 11 incidents per day in the US alone.

We carry a version of this, originally created by the UK's CAA (PDF):
Aviation LASER Exposure Self-Assessment (https://www.caa.co.uk/docs/49/Alesa%20card%20web.pdf)

FAA publication on the hazards of L.a.s.e.r. attacks:LASER HAZARDS (PDF) (https://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/pilotsafetybrochures/media/laser_hazards_web.pdf)

[Ditchdigger]

Blimey, why is my version of l@ser coming out a l@ser after sending too ?


If I recall correctly, it's meant to keep the unwashed masses from being able to stumble upon such discussions here through a simple internet search. You can recognize the word for what it is, but a search engine can't, and that hopefully keeps someone with malicious intent from getting any insight or inspiration out of seeing the subject discussed between pilots themselves.

[Singapore787]

Few years back this happened to me a few times going into Changi, in one occasion below 200ft. People who do this should be punished severely.

[MTOW]

Nothing to do with lasers, but in East Malaysia, it's considered a major coup by the local teenage (and younger) boys if they can snag their kite string on an airliner on approach. (And it's not unusual to see lots - and I mean LOTS - of kites around the East Malaysian airfields.)

On the pre-flight walkaround, (I think it was at Kota Kinabalu, but it may have been Kuching), I once found a very long piece of red string draped over the leading edge of my aircraft, so at least one kid had scored a 'hit'.

If the kite itself was to be ingested by the engine, I don't suppose it would cause any major damage, (to the engine at least - it would be severely 'terminal' for the kite), but neither is it something the airline's engineering department would want to encourage.