Laser pointers used against aircraft

[Bob Down]

Hi AN2,

Ummm, hadn't heard it was still going on, though doesn't surprise me. As we know political solutions in Switzerland are simply a way of pushing the problem away to someone else...let's have a referendum on it, only need 100,000 signatures for it to become a 'national' issue!!!!

Better solution would be to get you to do circuits round the perpetrators house in that wonderful bi-plane of yours...scare them rigid

BD

[MSP Aviation]

not to hijack this thread (are you allowed to say that on an aviation forum?), but what do you all think would be appropriate punishments? i personally think an example needs to be set, and some poor guy needs to get a jail sentence/probation so people will realize that this could be a serious issue, especially as more and more powerful lasers become available to Joe Civilian.

[robo283]

Following any conviction for Endangering the Safety of an Aircraft, imprisonment ought to be taken as read. If prison is appropriate for idiots delaying an aircraft through a bomb hoax, then there can be no sensible case (in my opinion) for imposing a lesser sentence for a more tangible menace.

[command]

lazers

I think this is an extremly serious issue. what the hell was the magistrate thinking only giving an offender 100 hrs community service, i think a hefty fine of around $10,000 and at least 10 years in prison would be much more appropriate. We need to get serious, I think an offence such as this is just as bad as sabbotage of an aircraft component, it puts the lives of everyone on board at risk and i think that it is just not on. It is almost an act of terrorism.
just my opinion.

[toothpic]

Double Zero wrote;

The military had the idea in the 1980's to use powerful ' pilot incapacitating' lasers (PIL) - during the Falklands war a ship fitted with 'Flasher' was sent down, but the official story is it wasn't used in combat.

Spent a happy couple of weeks running out of Gibraltar in the early eighties, doing tests on a British PIL, seemed very hush hush at the time.
They werent really supposed to incapacitate/blind the pilot, they were mainly designed to dazzle and interfere with the HUD and force the pilot to look down at his instruments at a critical phase of his attack, (at low level that could be pretty hairy )
I remember one ship a year or two later visited the City of London forgot to cover up the aforementioned laser projectors when the ship was opened to visitors. Someone got a major b*****king for that
Toothpic

[StraightLevel]

Hi Robo,

Would be worth speaking to Cranfield Airport as they had an incident around november/december 2005?? i think when there was a laser put ontop of a building in Milton Keynes(think it was the theartre) which shone in the eyes of a few pilots on the approach to R21.

Regards,

straightlevel.