Laser in Sydney
We were approaching Glenfield (for runway 07 in Sydney) one night when we were told that the aircraft in front of us reported a laser being pointed at them at about 6 nm from the runway.
I decieded to turn all the exterior lights off (landing lights, navigation lights, anti-collision lights, and strobe lights). I called the cabin and asked them to turn the cabin lights right down too ( I didn't explain to them why though).
I told Approach that we had turned our lights off and asked them to pass on this information to the tower.
I figured the risk of someone pointing a laser at us was a far greater threat to us than what turning the exterior lights out would have been in regards to an increased risk of mid-air collision (which was nil really). Remember we were radar identified and in controlled airspace. Even the people in the tower would have had us on their screen.
I figured that turning the lights out would make us a much harder target to find. We turned all the lights on again at about 800 ft.
And no, we were not targeted by any laser.
I decieded to turn all the exterior lights off (landing lights, navigation lights, anti-collision lights, and strobe lights). I called the cabin and asked them to turn the cabin lights right down too ( I didn't explain to them why though).
I told Approach that we had turned our lights off and asked them to pass on this information to the tower.
I figured the risk of someone pointing a laser at us was a far greater threat to us than what turning the exterior lights out would have been in regards to an increased risk of mid-air collision (which was nil really). Remember we were radar identified and in controlled airspace. Even the people in the tower would have had us on their screen.
I figured that turning the lights out would make us a much harder target to find. We turned all the lights on again at about 800 ft.
And no, we were not targeted by any laser.
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Springfield
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Unrelated to the original topic, sorry, but I'd recommend that you don't do that again, Blip, or at least not on 07. If there is going to be a mid-air collision involving an RPT aircraft in SY airspace it will almost undoubtedly occur with a night arrival to RWY 07. When BK TWR go home of an evening (8 or 9pm) and departures from the CTAF are required to depart from the southern side of the circuit, there are FREQUENTLY penetrations into the SY CTR which fly across/around/the wrong way up the 07 LLZ. It is a problem which has been known for years but no-one is willing to tackle so it resides in the too hard basket.
