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Pointing a laser at a police helicopter got a California man a 14-year prison sentence, which federal officials and pilots hope will discourage the threat to airline safety.

Sergio Rodriguez, 26, of Clovis, was sentenced Monday for pointing a laser at a Fresno police helicopter, according to U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner. Rodriguez and his girlfriend, Jennifer Coleman, 23, were both convicted by a federal jury after a three–day trial in December.

Laser strikes are a concern for airliners because they can temporarily blind a pilot while landing or taking off. The number of laser strikes against aircraft has climbed sharply in the last decade, reaching 3,960 incidents last year.

"This is not a game. It is dangerous, and it is a felony," Wagner said. "Those who aim lasers at aircraft should know that we will seek to convict them, and we will seek to send them to prison. The safety of aircraft and the people in them demands no less."

Coleman's sentencing is scheduled May 12.

According to evidence presented at trial, Rodriguez and Coleman used a high-powered green laser pointer to repeatedly strike the helicopter cockpit during a clear summer night in 2012. The helicopter known as Air 1 responded to their apartment complex near Fresno Yosemite International Airport to investigate laser strikes on an emergency helicopter for Children's Hospital of Central California.

The Air Line Pilots Association, a union representing 50,000 pilots, issued a statement praising the prosecution and sentence, which it said "will help send the message to others that intentionally aiming a laser at aircraft is not a prank, but a federal crime with very serious consequences."

Leon McLin, a senior research optometrist for the Air Force Research Laboratory who testified at trial, indicated at sentencing that the laser pointer that Rodriguez used was capable of inflicting serious bodily injury and, indirectly, death due to a high potential for crash caused by visual interference.

A person on the ground can aim a laser pointer, which can cost as little as $50, into the cockpit of a plane or helicopter. The cockpit glass diffuses the light, which pilots complain is like a flashbulb going off and temporarily hurting their vision at a critical time of taking off or landing a plane.

Last month, the FBI began offering rewards up to $10,000 for information leading to the conviction of someone aiming a laser at a plane. The ALPA is working with the FAA to promote the campaign with public-service announcements, billboards and press releases focused in 12 cities. They are: Albuquerque; Chicago; Cleveland; Houston; Los Angeles; New York; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Sacramento; San Antonio; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Washington.

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August 18th, 2014 @ 7:29pm

SALT LAKE CITY — Police are investigating reports of a laser being pointed into the cockpits of three aircraft approaching the Salt Lake City International Airport on Sunday.

Between 8 p.m. and 8:15 p.m., three pilots reported a green laser being pointed into the cockpits while the planes were landing. The SkyWest planes, each carrying between 20 and 50 passengers, landed without incident, according to airport spokeswoman Barbara Gann.
Each pilot reported the laser coming from an area about 6 miles south of the airport.

"It's a federal offense, and there are severe consequences if somebody is discovered doing it because of the danger it can cause to the pilot," Gann said. "Not only will it disorient a pilot, but it can also damage their eyesight and interfere with them operating an aircraft."

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The crew of an Irish Coast Guard helicopter was targeted by a potentially blinding green laser as they searched for a missing family on Monday night.

The helicopter had been operating in the Cratloe and Woodcock Hill areas of Co Clare when the laser was aimed at the cockpit several times.

The Shannon based crew had been searching for a family of five holidaymakers who had become disorientated in the woods and unable to find their way out of the popular walking trail.

Rescue 1-1-5 had been using it’s powerful search light and infra-red heat seeking camera to try and locate the family while members of the Killaloe unit of the Irish Coast Guard carried out ground searches.

While the crew hovered over the area, they were targeted several times by a green laser and reported the incident to air traffic control.

The crew told controllers that the laser was pointed directly at them for a period of two minutes on one occasion. The pilot described the laser as “pretty massive” and appeared to be coming from the Cratloe area.

Air traffic controllers reported the matter to gardaí and also informed the pilots of passenger aircraft arriving at Shannon that the helicopter had been targeted.

A Coast Guard spokesman said: “Unfortunately this is not uncommon. We had another incident recently on the east coast. We take such incidents extremely seriously but all we can actually do is report them to gardaí in the hope that a patrol in the area can locate the culprits.”

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) confirmed: “Shannon Air Traffic Control received a report of a laser attack on a search and rescue helicopter at 23.15hrs on 25 August 2014. The IAA forwarded these details to An Garda Siochana.”

“Shining a laser at an aircraft can affect the safety of an aircraft, especially if the aircraft is at a critical phase, such as landing. While the majority of reported incidents have been found to have a low safety impact, pilots have reported flash blindness, glare and being distracted from lasers,” the IAA spokesman said.

Early last month, an Air Corps air ambulance transporting a critically ill baby from Donegal to a hospital in Dublin was struck several times by a laser.

Last year, there were 158 reported laser strikes on aircraft including passenger jet’s arriving at Irish airports.

50 of these incidents involved Irish Air Corps aircraft while garda air support helicopters have also been targeted in the past.

Laser pointers, which are widely available on the internet and can be picked up cheaply, particularly in many European holiday resorts, emit a dazzling red or green beam up to 20 miles.

The beam can temporarily blind a person and cause disorientation for a time.

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A man who shone a laser pen at a police helicopter was identified by his pot belly, bald head and Liverpool football shirt, a court heard.

Neil Lanham, 50, pointed the laser at least six times at the aircraft.

Those on board, who were looking for a suspect, pinpointed the source using cameras and gave a description to police on the ground who arrested him.

Lanham, of Woburn Road in Bedford, pleaded guilty and was jailed at Luton Crown Court for four months.

Judge Barbara Mensah said the "blinding of a pilot could have catastrophic effects".

"It may have damaged his eyesight. He would have been unable to control his helicopter. It may have caused the fatalities of those in the helicopter and on the ground. It was a built up area," she said.

'Gross stupidity'

Prosecutor David Stanton said that the National Police Air Service (NPAS) single-piloted helicopter had been called out shortly after 21:00 BST on 13 September and was travelling at 1,300ft (400m).

It was piloted by Captain Christopher Hawkins, who had four crew on board.

Mr Stanton said: "Without warning, a green laser light entered the cockpit and pulsed. It lasted for 10 seconds. Captain Hawkins looked away and took avoiding action..

"It was not just the once. The helicopter moved position but the beam was directed five or six more times at it over a period of five minutes."

He said Lanham was seen in his rear garden with another man and was identified by his "noticeably large stomach", "balding" head and his Liverpool football shirt.

Defence barrister, Graham Blower, said the offence was "completely out of character", and that Lanham described what he had done as "gross stupidity".

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