On consecutive nights (two instances I heard) heli pilots heading for runway 34 at ABZ have reported a green light being shone at them as they have approached the airport from the east.

Seems the change from BST to GMT has brought out the freaks.

Sheer stupidity if it is one of these l@zer things & I hope whoever is doing it is caught soon, but if its from the housing estate around the Haudagain roundabout, may be difficult to pinpoint.

Can you protect your eyes from these things being shone at you?

I suggest you inform the local police. We are reported a person for doing the same to our air support unit. Person apprehended was found with a powerful green l@zer purchased from ebay. The message must get out to these people especially if the aircraft flown is single pilot.

Sometime last month an instructor of an R22 reported that he had been blinded by a green laser light near Aberdeen at night. Having spoken to him he said the student had to remain flying the aicraft into ABZ as he could not clearly see for about 5mins. Aircraft later returned to Peterculter.

I have had torches shined at the aircraft but lucky have never been affected by them. Some people are thick as !!!!!.

TiP

Recently been in the market for a green laser I think I know where these new more powerful green lasers are coming from. I doubt it would be wise to post a link, but it isn't eBay.

They're what may well be a Class 3b, it comes with no sort of warnings or instructions and to be honest is far to powerful for use in your average lecturing situation (Night time range of a mile or so and a bright sunlight range of maybe 100 meters is just OTT).

In terms of eye protection, not really a chance. Testing mine on a few pairs of sunglasses it just goes straight through with no visible attenuation.

Quite frankly I was surprised that they were a) on sale b) easy to get hold of and c) so cheap. I'm sticking to an old class 2 red.

I have been told that alot of these green lasers on sale are used for star pointing... not pointing at aircraft!

As DAQ said, they are widely available and super cheap. I honestly can't think how authorities can go about preventing the sale of them and the proper use.

CAA envorcement agency are apparently starting a investigation into lasers being pointed at aircraft.

TiP

We had a problem with high-powered torches (fortunately not as bad as lasers, but still distracting when you are in a high-workload situation). Looked into legal aspects - choice is CAA prosecution for showing lights with intent to endanger aircraft (cant remember exact wording, as I dont have the ANO to hand), or police and CPS pressing a case with something more wishy-washy like anti-social behaviour. Our case fell through, because nobody was desperately interested in taking it forward. It will certainly help if there has been a precedent set with some prosecutions. best of luck!

Yes..thre have been precedents......one in Wilts a year or so ago when the guy was prosecuted for endangering a police helicopter and found guilty.I think it was the CAA who acted but it might have been the police themselves.i know they caught him red handed.

Wow SS, that is pretty shocking!!

Which part of the WMP patch was that? Do you get it often?, and when apprehended do the muppets involved realise what they were doing?, or is it a case of "I was pointing out the helicopter to my mate Dave your honour!"

wow SS that pic is absolutely awful....that green light is not a nice thing at the best of times let alone on final approach....I avoid the Haudigain at the best of times driving(normally do it with my eyes closed...) but being based on the ground that pic shows us what you guys in the sky have to put up with!

Bloody hell, that's pretty shocking footage there SS! Glad you got the responsible.

S

Easy.....some DVD's are green




Link removed: silly thing to link to, given the nature of this thread

Senior Pilot

There used to be a green one in the astronomy department at school that was used as a star pointer. The advantage was that you could see the full beam extending up, whereas the red you couldn't unless it was slightly misty, in which case nobody would be doing astronomy anyway.
Looking on eBay I'm suprised how cheap they are. To be honest I never considered the effect they'd have on aircraft at the time either.
There's also another website that advertise both red and green lasers as a kind of survival flare. The beam is an elongated ellipse (almost a line) rather than a normal pointer (a very narrow conical beam) to 'fan' the surroundings. I can't say I'd like to have any one of them shone in my eyes while flying at night!

MyFox Phoenix | Green l@zer sends teen to jail
It is not only in the north they are everywhere, at least the police caught this one
Further comment from police
www.kfyi.com/cc-common/mainheadlines3.html?feed=118695&article=2978446

The CPS will not take these cases forward in our area. Last year we had a lad arrested and the final outcome was an £80 Public Order Fixed Penalty ticket!! They caught him in the act.
Tonight (1 hour ago) I got green l@zered over Norris Green in Liverpool. That is the 5th time in 4 days. We didn't even fly last night. It is not worth the hassle of trying to catch the little darlings.

We recently got one on video, the offender had the laser confiscated and received a caution. - seems to be the standard 'punishment'.

I do believe that these people only shine lasers at aircraft out of curiosity without understanding the hazard. Mind you we could just go away instead of circling their houses and taping them!

I am not night rated and hence my question comes from a position of ignorance rather than with a particular axe to grind.

In what way are these lasers dangerous to pilots ?
I understand that if you happen to be looking at the source and it is shined at your eyes then this is bad.
Are there other unpleasant effects ?

Thanks
TB

3 Blades,
When the light strikes the aircraft, it "Fills" every single tiny scratch in the perspex with bright green light which you cannot see through - that's before any light meets your retina. Personally, I think that fining the little ss is a waste of time. A more fitting answer would be to shine said laser into their eyes - from the rear!!!

Fortyodd2, thanks for the clarification. Nasty and dangerous indeed. I agree with your sentiments.

Novel approach Fourtyodd2 but think it may work, IF you require helpcall
It can only be time before there is an serious incident.
3 blades
Lasers can blind you, if they are of sufficient power, think there was a post from a pilot a few weeks ago saying he was l@zered and lost vision for a significant period (some minutes) hope no lasting damage to his eyes, luckily 2 pilot ship,
The problem appears to be there are numerous places selling High power lasers, to Drongos.
A link to laser site explaining classifications.
HowStuffWorks "How Lasers Work"

The panic over lasers is probably grounds for another myth, lasers are harmless except for the bother and distraction that they cause.

The unwarranted fear of permanent eye damage that pilots might harbor if lased might be more distracting than the light.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/34229.stm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_safety