Pilots - Laser blinding serious or BS?

[red-beard]

First, I will state that I have never tried to point a laser pointer at a plane, but it would seem virtually impossible for a human to point and keep a laser pointer pointed at the cockpit of an aircraft inflight.

Geez, I can hardly keep my sights on a target at 25 yards with a pistol and I know what I can do at 100 with a rifle and scope.

But an Aircraft cockpit, miles away, moving at hundreds of miles an hour? I smell BS.

I'm calling Shananigans!

[singpilot]

I have been going in and out of Las Vegas for years. In the early days of the Luxor Hotel, there were lasers aimed indescriminately up from the building as part of the light show that emanates from there. On departure (climbing out of McCarren, just south of the hotel), the lasers would sometimes sweep past the cockpit. They were pretty bright, and would light up the inside of the cockpit pretty well. About the same as a lightning flash. I never happened to be looking at the source, and your natural inclination is not to do that, so I cannot say that any blindness, transient, temporary or otherwise would result. It was more of a startle kind of thing. The hotel modified the computer that aimed the lasers to avoid any shining anywhere towards the flight path. In fact, I think they have since been removed.

I suspect that even if one was intentionally aimed at a cockpit, it would have to be pretty strong, and happen to actually catch BOTH pilots looking at the source to have a chance of downing an airplane.

Now I know that certain agencies in the Govt. think that there is a plan to use them for terror, but I think it would have to have a fair amount of luck to succeed.

YMMV.

[Joeaksa]

I have done the same and its really a distraction. As Michael says, should one be aimed in the cockpit, we are immediately "heads down" (not looking outside) as you would be blinded.

This has happened several times and some pilots got hit long enough to cause damage to the eyes. Not a joking matter and we fully support finding these people and putting them in the "house of doors" with Bubba for a long time.

JoeA

[wcc]

They are currently looking for someone in Detroit for shining a laser pointer in a cockpit of an airplane. I personally don't see how the person on the ground could even tell it's in the cockpit. I mean I have one and shined it on a neighbors house about 4 houses down and I couldn't see the red dot at all on their house. If that person is truly using a laser pointer and not something more powerful I just don't see how he could aim it inside a cockpit with any kind of accuracy. Or even make some one go blind.

I wouldn't do it cause it's a safety thing. But I'm curious about this too....

[Seahawk]

Interesting thread...laser safe issues are a huge deal in the military given lasers guided weapons, laser range finders and designators, etc.

All our systems and weapons must be certified under the laser safe program, especially for maintenance procedures and use on non-military installations.

I know that what I am referring to are not, "laser pointers" like the kind used in briefings, but the leap to more powerful, compact and capable lasers is not a stretch.

I also remembered an incident that caused a great deal of concerned among helicopter pilots. Took me awhile to find a link, but here is a brief synopsis:

His name is Lieutenant Jack Daly. He is an active duty regular U.S. Naval Intelligence Officer who, prior to his transfer to San Diego in 1998, was stationed at the Canadian Pacific Maritime Forces Command Base, Esquimalt, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. His intelligence liaison assignment with the Canadian Armed Forces was under the auspices of the Chief of Naval Operations/Intelligence Directorate (CNO/N2) Foreign Intelligence Liaison Officer (FILO) program, managed by the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI). Jack was wounded along with a Canadian Air Force pilot, Capt. Patrick Barnes, aboard a Canadian helicopter on 4 April, 1997, when we were lased (shot/targeted) with a laser by the Russians while on an ONI tasked surveillance flight over the Russian merchant ship KAPITAN MAN just five nautical miles north of Port Angeles, WA in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. As result of this surveillance, both Capt. Barnes and Jack suffered irreparable eye injuries resulting in permanent retinal damage. Capt. Barnes has been permanently grounded from this incident and has lost all flight qualifications. He will never fly again. Both suffer constant agonizing pain in their eyes and their vision continues to worsen from this incident, with little expected relief as there is no known effective medical treatment. Pentagon spokesman, Ken Bacon, reported on 26 June 1997, that their injuries were healed. This is absolutely false!

The use of lasers to ward off surveillance is a violation of the "Certain Conventional Weapons Convention, Protocol - IV." The intelligence community has evidence that this vessel and others like her are associated with the Russian military. Under current federal law it is a felony to point lasers at aircraft. It is entirely possible that someone onboard the KAPITAN MAN was using a laser designed to record the acoustic signature of the propeller on the USS Ohio, which was outbound on the surface at the time. When they flew over the KAPITAN MAN it was turned on them knowing that it would cause harm. This was the tactic that the Russians had used numerous times in the past.

[beepbeep]

I believe there are astronomy lasers with green beam that can be directed fairly accurately trough the telescope.

Something like that in hands of an idiot could certainly pose a threat to pilots.

[RickM]

I'm sure we all heard about his guy from NJ....actually the town I work in.....

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-01-04-laser-aircraft_x.htm

"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."

[Jims5543]

I used to work for a Medical Laser company called Quantronix back in the 80's. As I remember, Green Lasers were VERY dangerous to the eye and would cause serious injury. I order for us to enter a laser lab we had to have on eye protection similar to what welders wear.

The fact that the guy in NJ was using a green laser is scary in itself. He obviously knew it was dangerous to the eye. To point it at a plane? Just stupid.

[real550A]

"Two years probation for laser prank on US jet"
Fri Feb 17, 2006 3:41 PM ET11

This headline is on Drudge right now!

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyid=2006-02-17T204112Z_01_N17259829_RTRUKOC_0_US-SECURITY-LASER.xml&rpc=22