Flashing a laser pointer at an aircraft could cost the offender $11,000.00 per occurrence according to the FAA, its considered interference with the flight crew. The intent is good but how do you catch the offender when the flash comes out of the city lights when the aircraft is approaching to land. It seems a bit problematic to me, worse odds than finding a needle in a haystack. Those who would be guilty of such action are not likely to be reading FAA press releases either.
Individual protection against the hazard would probably be the wise choice for those who frequently find themselves targeted. NoIR has some protection options listed on their website here.
NoIR also has this to say about the range of various office type laser pointers.
“The hazard is significant: A 5-milliwatt green laser — the maximum output for any device labeled and sold as an office laser pointer — is a distraction to pilots over a mile away, while a 125-milliwatt laser can cause a cockpit distraction at a distance of greater than 5 miles. The danger posed by a bright laser illumination is increased at night, as the target’s eyes are low-light adapted and the effect is more pronounced. Standard sunglasses typically afford no protection from high-intensity green, blue and red laser pointers; in fact, normal sunglasses can have the undesired effect of increasing the time it takes to adapt to the bright glare of a laser illumination”.
The FAA encourages flight crews to report all occurrences and have recorded over 1,100 incidents already this year. “Laser event reports have steadily increased since the FAA created a formal reporting system in 2005 to collect information from pilots. Reports rose from nearly 300 in 2005 to 1,527 in 2009 and 2,836 in 2010”. Source
Common sense seems to have left our population along with consideration for causing others harm. The numbers certainly indicate a rising problem.
Be Safe,
Jim
