Laser incidents reach record numbers in 2010 skies

Today, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that the number of laser strikes on airplanes in 2010 nearly doubled from the previous year to more than 2,800. This is the highest number of incidents since we first began keeping track in 2005.

An incident that takes a pilot's attention away from the business of getting passengers safely to their destination is an unacceptable risk to passenger safety. And that is exactly what happens when someone points a laser at an airplane.

Laser strikes can also harm pilots. Imagine that you've been piloting an aircraft for two or three hours in nighttime conditions, when suddenly a brilliant green beam hits you directly in the eye. The result? Persistent pain, eye spasms, and spots in your vision.

As Federal Aviation Administrator Randy Babbitt wrote in a blog post here last month, "Some of these exposures have required pilots to have to temporarily give up control of an aircraft to their co-pilot or abort a landing.  We have also had reports of people shining lasers into air traffic control towers."

Pointing a laser at an airplane is not a harmless prank; it is a technological assault on the pilot and a serious safety risk to passengers.

Yet laser event reports have steadily increased since the FAA began collecting information from pilots. Reports rose from nearly 300 in 2005 to 1,527 in 2009 and 2,836 in 2010.

That's why, says Administrator Babbitt, “The FAA is actively warning people not to point high-powered lasers at aircraft. We continue to ask pilots to immediately report laser events to air traffic controllers so we can contact local law enforcement officials.”

We are committed to raising awareness of this important safety issue. And you can help. If you see someone pointing a laser at an aircraft, please contact your local law enforcement officials.

Comments

[Steve Litke]

There is existing technoogy that could protect against this at a very reasonable cost. The DOT could sponsor some research into this.

Consider that a $70 welding helmet has an auto-dimming glass. That same technology could be used on the lower portion of cockpit windows. The dimming and un-dimming would be fast enough that it would not interfere with normal flight.

[Georgette]

Apparently warning people isn't doing a thing to stop this very real form of attack. What in the world is being done to protect the PILOTS?! Each pilot is overseeing the safety of typically hundreds of people. So why is the FAA acting so slowly on creating legislation to make using a laser on the face of a pilot illegal?