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Pointing Lasers at Aircraft

I don't think people are generally insulting the situation.  The articles presented in the thread
and in the media provide evidence "lasers" can and are being used at aircraft.  Unfortunately, the
articles do not provide many facts or garble the facts enough which leads to ambiguity and
speculation.  The nature of exposures, the laser types used, and the intention are not known yet.


 
Here's an article on the subject: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48779-2005Jan4.html?
It seems like the only organisation trying to scare people is the media. The govt agencies are not twisting anything, as in this case:
"We have no credible intelligence of a terrorist group using lasers on the homeland," FBI spokesman Bill Carter said. "Out of an abundance of caution, we're asking the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate these issues and report them to the FBI."
While the threat of terrorists using lasers to attack planes is low, there are idiots out there who do this for whatever reason:
Pilots and FAA officials said there have been hundreds of incidents reported over the past decade in which laser beams of different varieties have tracked planes or impaired pilot vision. The most widely available lasers are display pointers. These are not as much of a concern as the high-powered lasers used for astronomy, in light shows and by the military. Some laser beams can reach 30,000 feet.
And the danger is real:
An FAA study found that advances in technology have made even high-powered lasers more widely available, less expensive and dangerous if aimed at pilots. "A laser attack could be quickly deployed and withdrawn, leaving no obvious collateral damage or projectile residue, and would be difficult to detect and defend against," said a June study by the FAA's Office of Aerospace Medicine. "The possible visual impairment, startle, distraction and the loss of spatial orientation created by such an attack could make landing an aircraft difficult at best."
 
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-01-04-laser-aircraft_x.htm
 

N.J. man charged with aiming laser at aircraft
By Alan Levin, USA TODAY
A New Jersey man was charged Tuesday under federal anti-terrorism laws with shining a laser beam at a charter jet flying over his home, temporarily distracting the pilots.

David Banach, 38, is the first person charged in a rash of recent incidents in which lasers were shined at aircraft around the country. Justice Department officials said they do not suspect terrorism in any of the cases, but said Banach's arrest shows how seriously they take the matter.

"We need to send a clear message to the public that there is no harmless mischief when it comes to airplanes," said Christopher Christie, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey.

Banach made an initial appearance in court Tuesday and was released on $100,000 bond. He was charged with interfering with a flight crew under the USA Patriot Act. He also was charged with lying to federal officers. The charges carry a maximum jail sentence of 25 years.

Unrelated incidents of laser beams hitting planes have been reported in Medford, Ore.; Colorado Springs; Cleveland; Houston and Washington.

Banach's attorney blasted federal officials for what she called an overreaction. "One would think they would want to devote their time and resources to prosecuting real terrorists, not people like my client," Gina Mendola-Longarzo told the Associated Press.

She said her client was playing with his young daughter, using the laser's narrow green beam to point at stars and illuminating trees and neighbor's houses. FBI agents and police swarmed Banach's Parsnippany, N.J., home Friday night after a green laser was pointed at a police helicopter overhead. The helicopter was carrying a charter jet pilot who was attempting to locate the source of a green laser beam that hit his flight on Dec. 29 as it prepared to land at nearby Teterboro Airport.

After being taken to an FBI office and given a lie-detector test, Banach said he had hit the jet with the beam, court documents say. During questioning by the FBI, Banach showed an agent his laser. After the agent switched it on, Banach warned him "not to shine the laser in his eyes because it could blind him," the court documents say.

Lasers have become increasingly cheap and commonplace in recent years. Thousands of inexpensive lasers used for home repair jobs were sold before Christmas, some for as little as $15.



*sigh*.

USA Patriot Act...
 
Pretty harsh punnishment for this, but also pretty stupid of the guy to shine it at aircraft.
 
This guy isn't a terrorist, but none the less, an idiot:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1104939324857_100348524/?hub=World

U.S. man charged under Patriot Act for laser

Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. â ” A man charged with temporarily blinding the pilot and co-pilot of an airplane with a laser beam claims he was simply using the device to look at stars with his 7-year-old daughter.

Federal authorities on Tuesday used the Patriot Act to charge David Banach, 38, with interfering with the operator of a mass transportation vehicle and making false statements to the FBI. He is the first person arrested after a recent rash of reports around the nation of lasers being beamed at airplanes.

If convicted, Banach could be sentenced to 25 years in prison and fined $500,000.

The FBI acknowledged the incident had no connection to terrorism but called Banach's actions "foolhardy and negligent."

Banach, of suburban Parsippany, admitted to federal agents that he pointed the light beam at a jet and a helicopter over his home near Teterboro Airport last week, authorities said. Initially, he claimed his daughter aimed the device at the helicopter, they said.

Banach's lawyer said his statements were given during several hours of questioning without an attorney present and that he was being harshly prosecuted because authorities were eager for an arrest.

"My client is in some ways a sacrificial lamb," attorney Gina Mendola-Longarzo said. "A message is being sent."

The jet, a chartered Cessna Citation, was landing Dec. 29 with six people aboard when a green light beam struck the windshield three times at about 3,000 feet, according to court documents. The pilot and co-pilot were temporarily blinded but were able to land the plane safely.

Two days later, a Port Authority police helicopter trying to pinpoint the origin of the beam was hit by a laser. A copter crew member then shined a spotlight on the house where the beam had originated so that officers on the ground could go there. Soon afterward, FBI agents came to Banach's house, authorities said.

Mendola-Longarzo said her client was simply using the hand-held device to look at stars with his daughter on the family's deck. She said Banach bought the device on the Internet for $100 for his job testing fiber-optic cable.

"He wasn't trying to harm any person, any aircraft or anything like that," she said.

Joseph Billy, agent in charge of the FBI's Newark bureau, said Banach's actions endangered not only the jet's crew and passengers but also "countless innocent civilians on the ground in this densely populated area."

Banach, who was released on $100,000 bail, is charged only in connection with the jet. According to the FBI, the Patriot Act does not describe helicopters as "mass transportation vehicles."

Similar incidents have been reported in Colorado Springs, Colo., Cleveland, Washington, Houston and Medford, Ore., raising fears that the light beams could temporarily blind cockpit crews and lead to accidents.

Last month, the FBI and the Homeland Security Department sent a memo to law enforcement agencies saying there is evidence that terrorists have explored using lasers as weapons. But federal officials have said there is no evidence any the current incidents were part of a terrorist plot.
 
Who cares.... if he did it ..hes guilty and he should be punished... why would you do that in the first place? where is the intelligence?
 
CFN. Orange said:
why would you do that in the first place? where is the intelligence?

there isnt any... Its just plain stupid what he did. Im glad he's getting charged and such
 
Fellas
As a safety dude at the school. Most lasers you buy are classed for eye safety. The Leo/Coyote/LAV laser is after 3 ft or meters, when ever the gunnery guys decide. Is eye safe. As stated only the low freq lasers used in light shows, are dangerous. They have a lower freq are a wider beam. A aircraft traveling at 200k/h ever at a few 100 ft, well if they do hit the pilot. Instead of hanging him. They should hire him.
You could blind a pilot with a mil watt hand held light.
I think it's basic American Terrorist fears. OOOOOO. The boogy man is coming. If they would worry about real problems. They and we be better off.
 
  Well, obviously he did something incredibly stupid....who knows what the guy was thinking at the time, and he deserves to be punished harshly....even if only for his stupidity.  My previous comment was simply eluding to the fact that....you can't just point one of those little board meeting style lasers that you get at the dollar store and actually hit the plane....so he must have been using something larger....thus he must have meant to do it and needs to be punished harshly!  (sorry, I was vague)
 
Here is another article that deals with the matter:
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2005/01/12/896589-ap.html

Mineta also issued a stern warning that U.S. officials will aggressively prosecute those caught shining laser beams into cockpits. The bright lasers - usually green - can temporarily blind pilots.

"We will not allow careless people making stupid choices to put pilots and their passengers at risk," Mineta said.
 
There was an incident in Phoenix today (maybe yesterday)
 
Now the US gov't is going to start shooting lasers (albeit non-dangerous ones) at people who are not authorized to enter ADIZ's (Air Defence Identification Zones)

http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/335-full.html#188958

Could make for an interesting lightshow.  Also I'd really like to hear what the laser warning would sound like on the ATIS, would be quite entertaining to see the reaction of my pax! >:D
 
Gilligan said:
What kind of laser could it be to reach an airplane???  

Well, it says in the article that he used a green one.  The red ones, won't travel that far, but the green ones will go out to up to 9000 ft (2.6 km), so plenty good for a charter aircraft coming in for a landing.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/lights/5a47

Quentin
 
You have to look at the specs of the laser (printed on the box and on the laser's label).  
The specs will indicate the laser's operating class and output power.   The output power,
the ability of the laser to culminate the beam (keep it focused and undiffused), and the
conditions of the medium in which the beam travels are the main "emitter to
target" characteristics.

The intensity of the laser is a condition of how much light strikes a given area.  
As an example, a light bulb throws off white light in all directions.   Take a 1 cm2 area about
three feet away from the bulb and you can calculate the intensity of the light striking
that 1 cm2 area.   Relatively not much.   A laser, by design, manufacture, and conditioning, is able to
culminate a beam of light to strike the 1 cm2 area three feet away with more
intensity.   The laser and the light bulb may emit the same amount of light as an example,
but the intensity of the light striking the 1 cm2 area is different.

In this regard, a 1mW visible light pen type laser (0 dBm) easily purchased from an store can put an
observable spot on a building 1 km away.   The diameter of the beam leaving the emitter
may be 1 mm but may strike the building a km away with a diameter of an 2.5 cm, depending
on the quality of the optics and interference/absorption of particulates in the air.   If it were
possible to maintain the beam's position well enough, one could see that beam kilometers
away by the naked eye.  

Unfortunately, pen lasers as high as 5 mW (or approx 7 dBm) in the visible spectrum are easily
available.   Its possible to strobe or flash anything kilometers away and people would
momentarily see the beam as its directed into their line of sight.   It would appear as a bright
flashlight kilometes away (but normal flashlights diffuse quickly and the intensity decreases,
pen type lasers maintain beam focus and therefore intensity over greater distances).  

Without a stable platform, its hard for pen-type lasers to strike a target like an eye-ball
kilometes away and damage it.   Shakey hands, refraction of air currents, and various
characteristics make it difficult for idiots with pen lasers (IWLs) to damage the eyes of pilots or
drivers of vehicles.   You have to look directly into the beam for some time depending
on intensity especially kilometers away.   For sure the momentary flash of bright light would
be startling and affect concentration and hence the concern. 

Terrorists desire the highest chance of destroying a target using the simplest unexpected
means.   Flashing pen type lasers or lasers of that class realistically couldn't achieve that goal.

 
Mods, please repost or delete if posted already before.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080305/pilot_laser_incidents_080305/20080305?hub=TopStories

Pilots across Canada report being flashed by lasers
Updated Wed. Mar. 5 2008 11:38 PM ET

toronto.ctv.ca

Thirty-three pilots across Canada have reported being flashed in the eyes by a laser beam while flying, including at least five incidents near Toronto's Pearson International Airport.

Transport Canada is now investigating the incidents, which date back to 2005 and include at least 12 in Ontario.

"It is certainly a concern for us and we're watching it closely," spokesperson Kirsten Goodnough told CTV.ca, saying she has no explanation for the increasing frequency of incidents.

The pilots have complained about someone on the ground shining a laser at their planes, penetrating the cockpit window and flashing the pilots in the eye. The source of the light is unclear.

Goodnough said some of the incidents around Toronto could have involved the small laser pointers used in boardrooms, but the devices would have to be relatively close to the plane to have a serious effect.

She said the more powerful lasers that may be involved would be those used in surgery rooms or at laser light shows, but those are a lot bigger and require heavy machinery. The devices also require permits from Health Canada.

A laser flashing a pilot's eye can distract and even temporarily blind a pilot. In more serious cases, the laser can cause long-term damage to their retinas.

"We're concerned with any activity that distracts pilots and interferes with the safe operation of an aircraft," Goodnough said.

The greatest concern is for planes approaching a runway and preparing to touch down.

In British Columbia and the U.S., several pilots have been forced to retire because of permanent retinal damage from laser beams, according to the Toronto Star. But Goodnough could not confirm that report.

"We're not aware of any pilots who have suffered damage as a result of these activities," she said.

Finding the lasers

Transport Canada is responsible for ensuring the safe operation of aircrafts, but any criminal investigations are left up to local police forces.

Const. Adam Minnion of Ontario's Peel Regional Police, the force responsible for security around Pearson airport, said anyone who purposely shines a light into a pilot's eyes would face a charge of mischief as a minimum.

However, his force has not laid any charges in connection with any incidents near the Toronto airport.

"We don't have any calls about this, which makes it very difficult to act upon " Minnion told CTV.ca after contacting Peel's airport criminal investigation unit.

He said complaints could have been made in other jurisdictions. Toronto police, however, said they have not received any such reports. Other forces around Toronto did not return phone calls to CTV.ca.

The laser incidents are a cause for concern, Minnion said, but he wouldn't speculate on the nature of the incidents.

The FBI has prosecuted some U.S. residents for purposely shining lights into the eyes of pilots. The agency says there have been hundreds of laser incidents in the U.S. over the last 15 years.
 
While law enforcement is looking for the perps, is there anything pilots can do to protect themselves? Eye protection?
 
I saw this on the CTV news web site yesterday makes you wonder why people are so stupid .  I hope that once the people involved in doing this are caught that the police can throw the book at them .
 
I was lased late one night several years ago over Mississauga while flying the Peel Region Police Helicopter Trial. It happened while we were orbitting over a crime scene just north of the QEW, and the idiot was about halfway up a high-rise apartment building - several people were out on balconies watching us. It was only a laser pointer, but it was pretty bright and the red spot on the building was surprisingly large. As soon as we were done, we flew over and put the NiteSun on him, at narrow focus. Our 30 million candlepower easily won. He probably felt several degrees warmer.

We didn't bother sending somebody up to visit him. It would have been too difficult to determine the correct apartment and pin it on him, plus our buddies on the ground had had enough to deal with for a while and didn't need to go beating on a bunch of doors just to (most likely) find some kid who thought that he was being clever and had just been scared dungless anyway.

We did, however, get guys onto the couple of others who, at various times and locations, aimed spotlights at us. They were at houses, which made things easier. I didn't bother to ask if charges were ever laid (shining bright lights at aircraft in flight is a crime).

It's impossible to determine addresses from a fast-moving jet at higher altitudes. Announcing this will probably inspire others though.
 
I've been lased before too. I didn't find out about it until after the fact though. We got a complaint from some whale watchers just south of Victoria that we flew over them at 150ft (pretty exact height they reported), when questioned how they knew we were at 150ft they said they used a laser range finder. They happened to be in US territorial waters at the time so the lasing incident was reported to the US authorities for prosecution since lasing aircraft is an offense south of the border.

There are laser visors out, unfortunately, they can only be designed to protect against very specific wave lengths and as such, are not 100% effective against all lasers.
 
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