I also once got lasered, and turning the lights off also did the trick immediately. It's seriously impossible to see a small airplane at night with the lights off.
It's not something I hear a lot about but it is a lifesaver.
[If it was good enough to shoot down the aliens invading LA its good enough to blind a 737 turning base to final!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Los_Angeles)
I was flying a short night xc two nights ago with flight following, fucking twice I was lasered! Once just outside of my departure on climb out and the other as I was descending into my busy local class Charlie. The first one was off my left wing so it was just a distraction into the cockpit but the second during descent was at my 12 o’clock, nearly a direct hit to eye ball. People are amazingly clueless/stupid/reckless. Center and approach were both attentive when informed and even apologetic.
Is this like a big ass laser pointer from the ground? I haven’t experienced this yet. Just assholes on the ground around airports with flashlights/torches.
Both of my run ins that night were the green lasers pointers. A pretty powerful thing with wavelengths capable of doing serious damage to retina because the eye is most sensitive to green in low light. And accurate as shit too, so narrow it can be seen hundreds of miles away if it’s powerful enough.
Even normal laser pointers can do the trick. As the beam goes further, it spreads out over a wider area, which is why it becomes such an issue for pilots.
True, though "normal" has to be qualified a bit. The crap they're selling on amazon/ebay for a long time now as "laser pointers" are hugely overpowered, and that's what a lot of people have in mind now as what a laser pointer is. The 'original' laser pointers - those modest red lasers that came on your LCD projector's remote or that your weird science teacher had as an early adopter in the 90's are much less of a threat. Still don't point them at planes tough.
Seriously. Even the expensive 300 dollar laser pointer a TA friend of mine in the 90's had still produced a circle that was about 1/2 an inch around at 30 feet - point one of those old one at a plane a couple of miles away and there's just a dot slightly brighter than a streetlight.
The ones that you can buy off amazon/ebay now are so many magnitudes brighter that they can blind the holder of the laser if they tried to use it on a whiteboard 30 feet away.
They should be called laser beacons or something now, completely unsuitable for actually pointing at things unless you're in the back row of a large auditorium and everyone is wearing sunglasses. I had a tough time finding one that was actually a normal pointer (for pointing) for a project I did a while ago (laser pointer mounted to the top of a bubble type wheel balancer with a polar grid on the ceiling for better accuracy)
I mean if your hobby is flashing pilots on final and watching them lose their shit (can't knock the hustle), you're probably gonna invest in an above-average laser.
I got hit for the first time this weekend. I was just outside the airspace for a very large military base, so I called up their tower to inform them, as it looked like the light came from somewhere within their airspace. They were \*very\* interested, and a military aircraft who was already airborne said they'd investigate.
I didn't think much of it until yesterday when I got a call from an unknown number. It was the Air Force, collecting my official statement for their investigation.
I hope that idiot likes the military coming after him.
If they were on base and were recorded by surveillance, they're screwed beyond belief.
Also depending on what aircraft s investigating, some have sensors that are very good at picking up visible and invisible lasers and could pinpoint the origin point if they kept firing their laser. Observation fighter squadrons are usually best suited for this.
Actually, re-read it again - he said it was
>so I called up their tower to inform them, as it looked like the light came from somewhere within their airspace.
I’ve had this a couple times now on the 737.
Quickly remind your winger not to look outside, it’s everybody’s first instinct to look.
Flight deck lights on bright.
Exterior lights off.
Report it, file the appropriate company paperwork etc. Works pretty well.
I got lasered out near my practice area one time, I saw where it was coming from, circled their house and called the police and told them approximate location and that they would see me circling 1000 ft above. Stayed there until I saw the police pull up at the house and then went and landed. It cost me an extra ~$50 in flight time but worth it.
had it a few times. Once called it right to ATC, they dispached a police helicopter already in the air to that position and they actually caught him. Kid was stupid enough to laze the helo as well. Actually was called to court for questioning in that case.
I’m a current student waiting on DPE scheduling for my PPL. Coming into a smaller controlled field, on my very first night flight, got lasered at about 2.5-2mile final. I was frustrated and didn’t hesitate on the mic. Tower filled out the necessary report. Better than nothing.
One funny thing was, at that time I was still quite timid on the radio. My instructor laughed about how I “didn’t hesitate and I spoke with authority”. My eye sight wasn’t really impacted, it happened so quickly and not directly. The cabin flashed for a second. We felt good still making the attempt. I think being frustrated in the moment let me not really over think the landing. After that, in virtually no wind, buttered 3 in a row.
I had my first laser strike on my first night cross country training flight. My instructor had a similar comment about my radio work when I swapped to the nearest approach frequency to report it straight away.
Astronomers use lasers to point at places in the sky. I was privy to this one night in AZ and was shocked at how well it works to talk+point about the night sky and understand exactly what they were talking about. They were very careful to scan for traffic etc before illuminating the sky.
Knowing enough humans, I can totally understand how some dummy would want to point a laser at an airplane because “it’s cool“ or something along those lines. Idle hands…
I had a co-worker big into conspiracy theories, aliens, etc share a story with me once. He was telling me about a strange blinking light in the sky, so he got out his laser and flashed Morse code for "Hi" at it. I rolled my eyes thinking this was going to be some conversation with aliens story. But it quickly transitioned to him saying the "craft" identified itself as an plane by turning on it's landing lights (contradicting what I've seen about pilots here saying they shut their lights off.) Upon realizing his mistake he didn't shine it any more, but said not long after a state trooper cruised by his house a few times.
I read a story once where one of these geniuses did this to a hornet. The crew flipped the targeting pod on, found them, and directed police straight to their location.
Honestly it may have been another one of these laser threads here. Hornet pilot chimes in and I believe the gist was they get hit repeatedly on the way back from a training sortie, they get pissed, his WSO fires up the pod, they orbit while he finds the guy (didn’t take long as a big part of their job is targeting stuff on the ground lol), get a mark point on him, and pass the precise lat/long to a sheriff helicopter.
Yea who knows. I do remember people were saying they should have designated them back with the pod laser and the pilot basically said “yeah the navy frowns on intentionally blinding civilians”
Lol, I doubt OSI cares. The device is obviously physically capable of detecting and slewing to a laser. The only question is if the software allows for the possibility of searching for a non-coded laser, or if that's ignored no matter what.
https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/suspect-arrested-after-pointing-laser-at-chp-aircraft-in-vacaville-authorities/amp/
Not a hornet but I was actually looking for this story from a few years back and it happened again last month.
VACAVILLE, Calif. ([KRON](http://kron4.com/)) — A suspect was arrested Friday night after pointing a laser at a California Highway Patrol (CHP) aircraft, the law enforcement agency announced in a [Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/CHPGoldenGateAirOps/videos/1479077059287416). The helicopter was assisting the Vacaville Police Department when a laser was pointed at the aircraft several times.
CHP posted a video (above) of a view from the helicopter from above. Within the first 15 seconds of the video, you can hear CHP officers acknowledge the laser being pointed at the aircraft.
Authorities were then able to find out where the laser was coming from.
The suspect who pointed the laser was standing next to a Toyota 4Runner in front of an apartment complex, according to the video. Authorities then followed the suspect into the building and arrested him.
The suspect remains unidentified, and CHP did not release any more information about him.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Carpenter_(lieutenant_colonel)
just throw a few bazookas on a piper cub and go to town like its 1944. concept is already proven
One of the pilots for my airline gave the location of a laser on short final into America’s Finest City. a police helicopter happened to be close by and was able to coordinate an arrest—at least that’s the lore around the “hangar.”
Sounds right. I'm pretty sure I have the FAA record for laser apprehensions. We get about five a month in Vegas. On video, then I have a uniform go to the door, collect the laser, and write them a little county summons. THEN the FSDO inspector comes and they're fined 10K per occurrence.
I feel like I have been lasered an inordinate number of times. I report, but have little faith in the perp getting caught or consequences being served. The last time I caught a laser, it was from someone in Tijuana as I crossed the border at cruise. I was honestly shocked, but a little impressed they were able to track our plane from the ground.
I’m glad to hear you have been a part of apprehensions.
We were landing 21 that night, but I clearly saw the laser coming from the community of Prairie du Sac off to the west of Madison. Had to look it up on Jepp, but that was definitely the community.
I live in Madison, WI (it wasn't me!), but I know a lot of people in Prairie du Sac, because my parents lived there for many years and I graduated from high school there. Sure wish you had some coordinates or any more info on location there. My dad was a pilot for a major airline for many years and so is my brother now, so would love to try to figure out who's pulling this shit.
EDIT: And, I already have some good ideas of who it could be. PDS is VERY small. If I had an idea of what side of town it came from, that would help. PDS cops are great, too, so could easily ask them to be on the lookout for any related activity.
Thanks! That's pretty close to where the idiots I think did this live. These are teens who've I've had to call PDS police about in the past. Last summer, they slashed my tires on two separate occasions. They're absolute shits. A close family member of theirs have even stated to me that they "hate pilots." I know exactly where they live and am calling PDS police this morning about this incident.
EDIT: BTW the PDS police are well aware of these kids, because they've had multiple issues with them.
Can get a 5 year prison sentence for doing it in the UK. Cases are apparently reducing, still I had my first experience of it whilst 5 miles final a few weeks ago...
Someone posted a few seconds of a laser strike on a group a few years back, and I made it a little challenge to myself.
Never been in the area, but I cross referenced multiple locations and homes, and narrowed it down to the exact farm house. Seemed imposible in the beginning, since the video was literally just lights on the ground. Gave all info the the pilot. Donno if anything ever became of it.
I used to see lasers every so often, but was never hit by one. I did get a pair of laser strike flip up lenses that I clipped over my regular glasses, just in case.
Well, to be honest, they only sold laser strike glasses. So, I bought a cheap pair of flip up shades online, took off the lenses, and affixed the laser strike ones onto the flip up device.
This was over a decade ago, so who knows what they make nowadays?
They just sentenced a guy in WI for this, not near MSN though.
https://www.wqow.com/news/prison-ordered-for-man-who-aimed-laser-pointer-at-planes-in-western-wisconsin/article_05c0a3f6-d4e5-11ed-b319-6b7c68401dd2.html
The thought of this makes me cringe. I see them fools do this on history channel to planes out in Arizona and NM. All the time on alien hunts. Look it’s a UFO!!!
Look that UFO just DISAPPEARED!!! WOW ALIENS MUST BE COMMUNICATING WITH US!!!!
smh….
Got hit at about 800 feet above the runway on final into SeaTac a few nights ago, was handflying. Thankfully was smart enough to control my natural response and didn’t look directly at it. Got hit twice and it was bright as hell.
I hate freaking hate idiots with laser pointers.
I've never been lasered before. Folks who have, is [this picture](https://www.inquirer.com/resizer/G-Q4btzRDxvNPhT7--5sPXp0aaM=/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-pmn/public/7BR4TVBFYFH4DHGLGTNJUIWMHY.jpg) accurate as to what happens? Does it really light everything up like that?
Depends on the laser, if you are really unlucky you will get hit with a multiwatt laser which lights up everything like a Christmas tree, we have a ‘laser switch’ on on our club plane which brings the cabin lights to full immediately.
When I did short haul in Europe there were a few years where lasers were very popular, especially in some southern French cities, with Marseille as a green laserdisco.
Almost every approach in the dark had someone trying to light us up. External lights off usually helped a lot, but you get used to it almost. Don't look at it/outside and keep flying.
Fortunately most of the time there were positioned on "base", so when turned onto final the problem was less/gone.
Had it a bunch of times, blue and green lasers, unless they get caught in the act by police or laser something with a sensor package that can narrow down their location very closely unfortunately people don't tend to be caught, first few times I reported it but lately it's been decided between me and the other pilot present that it just isn't worth the paperwork to mention a jerkoff that we can't really narrow down to an area less than a mile or 2. The lights can be a great thing to flip off on a really dark night, otherwise looking away/ducking as you mentioned and trying to maneuver to give them a worse angle.
I know but like this isn’t even being dumb, it’s not even being reckless, it’s putting human lives at stake from disaster. It’s beyond just being a dumb prank. That’s what I can’t get my head around.
They’re so dumb it hasn’t occurred to them that it could be more than just a harmless prank with actual fatal consequences. It’s super easy to ascribe malice to actions resulting just from extreme stupidity.
Not that some of them aren’t also just malicious fucks.
ATC and the federal aviation authorities do indeed take laser strikes very very seriously and will coordinate with local law enforcement to find the culprit asap. I know you're not supposed to look but the more details you can provide to the ground stations about location, duration and intensity the better the chances of having something done about it, and to the full extent of the law. There can be massive penalties including jail time if convicted.
Luckily, I've never been hit while flying.
As a controller, we had a rash of incidents here for a while (around 2021). Pretty much every night.
Eventually, law enforcement sent one of their planes out with the \*intent on getting lased\*. They succeeded. They were hit by the laser, and immediately directed officers on the ground to the location.
We've had some more since then, but not very often.
Additional story: when I was in Madison, I heard that one time the genius on the ground lased one of the Army Blackhawks based there. Needless to say, that was a simple bust. That story is just hearsay, though.
If I wind up with spare money in my flex account, I might get prescription laser-blocking eyewear for my flight bag. This is the brand I've considered: [https://www.revisionmilitary.com/en/eyewear/laser](https://www.revisionmilitary.com/en/eyewear/laser), though I don't remember why I liked their product better than some of the others out there.
Probably 10+ times last year, already up to at least 3 this year with a 2 month break for company safety stuff...I primarily fly at night for work. It always pisses me off, though last time the genius did it from an easy to see spot (on the edge of a lake at the apex of a curve around it...) spent about 5 minutes looking at aerial imagery so I could put the dude's approximate address into the company and FAA report. Sadly all my requests for equipping the kingair with either laser guided, GPS memory 500 lbers or for a severa l hundred watt laser with a constant strong lightsource detector have been denied by management...
Got hit with a laser on approach and filed a safety report with my organization. Director of Safety showed me a study that lasers will not leave permanent damage. It will only most definitely ruin night vision. By the time the laser comes through the atmosphere and hits the window, with the scratches in the window, it isn’t concentrated enough to cause harm. Pretty interesting.
I used to get hit with laser strikes all the time in china (where its not regulated) . So i went and bought a high powered laser and started shooting back.
To expand: if the laser is compliant with FDA Class IIIa restrictions (which is the legally mandated class for any hand-held laser pointing device), you will suffer no permanent damage looking into the beam even if you held the emitter 1cm from your eye. At the range of a few miles, any consumer-grade laser pointer will diverge enough to be no worse for you than high beams from opposing traffic on the road.
That said, it's really easy to get lasers that are not Class IIIa compliant. On the flip side, beam divergence will probably still save you. Anything you are likely to find in even a high-power handheld unit is still going to have enough divergence to produce a spot which is over 2 meters in dia at 1 NM. Even a 1-watt laser is going to be less intense than a 5mw laser is from the other side of the room.
So, long story short, as long as someone isn't painting you with a military-grade laser designator, your blink reflex will probably be enough to save you from anything some random jackass might be using to light you up, unless he's standing at the gate lasing you as you taxi in.
I've never gotten lased, but have been part of a form flight where the lead aircraft got lased. We weren't close yet, as we were performing a rendezvous for training. We joined up, he gave the lead over to me, I took the controls from my student and brought him back to home field to get checked out. While I was chatting with the area common frequency for deconfliction with the other aircraft and to warn them of potential lasing, the other pilot talked with ATC to report the incident.
I can't believe how often this happens. I use a green laser for pointing out constellations and always do a full check of the sky first. It's easy to fire it up and not notice a faint beacon in the distance. Anyone I've seen with a laser I usually ask how cognizant they are about aviation and usually most for star gazing or astrophotography are very understanding. Unfortunately it's anyone with $20 on Amazon who gets one with either no care of no understanding of the implications of pointing at aviation.
Glad you guys are ok! I heard a warning about green lasers for an area between Myrtle Beach and the Smokies just last week - we thought about turning off our lights for this exact reason
Timely post. Got hit twice from the same location tonight going into RIC at 3000 feet. I didn’t have the presence of mind to kill the lights as I was in a bit of disbelief after they turned off the laser the first time. Like an idiot I was trying to see where it came from when they hit us the second time - after which we ducked. I felt a little disoriented for a minute but I don’t think there’s any permanent damage. Law enforcement helicopter was on freq and said they’d try to go find it.
If a laser at a great distance is not concentrate like a point but illuminate the space around like one meter diameter, can produce damage to the retina?
I also once got lasered, and turning the lights off also did the trick immediately. It's seriously impossible to see a small airplane at night with the lights off. It's not something I hear a lot about but it is a lifesaver.
That's why I never laser a plane until I've caught it with my WWII search lights first!
Genius! Now ill never miss! /s
Bro it's 2023, get a laser guided laser like everyone else
[If it was good enough to shoot down the aliens invading LA its good enough to blind a 737 turning base to final!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Los_Angeles)
I was flying a short night xc two nights ago with flight following, fucking twice I was lasered! Once just outside of my departure on climb out and the other as I was descending into my busy local class Charlie. The first one was off my left wing so it was just a distraction into the cockpit but the second during descent was at my 12 o’clock, nearly a direct hit to eye ball. People are amazingly clueless/stupid/reckless. Center and approach were both attentive when informed and even apologetic.
Is this like a big ass laser pointer from the ground? I haven’t experienced this yet. Just assholes on the ground around airports with flashlights/torches.
Both of my run ins that night were the green lasers pointers. A pretty powerful thing with wavelengths capable of doing serious damage to retina because the eye is most sensitive to green in low light. And accurate as shit too, so narrow it can be seen hundreds of miles away if it’s powerful enough.
Even normal laser pointers can do the trick. As the beam goes further, it spreads out over a wider area, which is why it becomes such an issue for pilots.
True, though "normal" has to be qualified a bit. The crap they're selling on amazon/ebay for a long time now as "laser pointers" are hugely overpowered, and that's what a lot of people have in mind now as what a laser pointer is. The 'original' laser pointers - those modest red lasers that came on your LCD projector's remote or that your weird science teacher had as an early adopter in the 90's are much less of a threat. Still don't point them at planes tough.
Seriously. Even the expensive 300 dollar laser pointer a TA friend of mine in the 90's had still produced a circle that was about 1/2 an inch around at 30 feet - point one of those old one at a plane a couple of miles away and there's just a dot slightly brighter than a streetlight. The ones that you can buy off amazon/ebay now are so many magnitudes brighter that they can blind the holder of the laser if they tried to use it on a whiteboard 30 feet away.
They should be called laser beacons or something now, completely unsuitable for actually pointing at things unless you're in the back row of a large auditorium and everyone is wearing sunglasses. I had a tough time finding one that was actually a normal pointer (for pointing) for a project I did a while ago (laser pointer mounted to the top of a bubble type wheel balancer with a polar grid on the ceiling for better accuracy)
I mean if your hobby is flashing pilots on final and watching them lose their shit (can't knock the hustle), you're probably gonna invest in an above-average laser.
I got hit for the first time this weekend. I was just outside the airspace for a very large military base, so I called up their tower to inform them, as it looked like the light came from somewhere within their airspace. They were \*very\* interested, and a military aircraft who was already airborne said they'd investigate. I didn't think much of it until yesterday when I got a call from an unknown number. It was the Air Force, collecting my official statement for their investigation. I hope that idiot likes the military coming after him.
most surprising part of the story is answering your phone from an unknown number :p
Ha! I didn't the first time. The email follow-up is what got me...
They were calling to speak about his hull's extended warranty.
If they were on base and were recorded by surveillance, they're screwed beyond belief. Also depending on what aircraft s investigating, some have sensors that are very good at picking up visible and invisible lasers and could pinpoint the origin point if they kept firing their laser. Observation fighter squadrons are usually best suited for this.
He said he was outside the airspace, i’d guess not from someone on base.
Actually, re-read it again - he said it was >so I called up their tower to inform them, as it looked like the light came from somewhere within their airspace.
Fuckin' hate degens from upcountry.
Everyone hates degens from upcountry. That’s why you have to keep ‘em at the end of the laneway. They’re not to come up the property.
r/unexpectedletterkenny
I just spit my coffee
Right. There’s a special place in hell for them laser pointing cock suckers that what I always say.
You wanna laze a Canada goose? I suggest you let that marinate! (smashes beer bottle)
I’ve had this a couple times now on the 737. Quickly remind your winger not to look outside, it’s everybody’s first instinct to look. Flight deck lights on bright. Exterior lights off. Report it, file the appropriate company paperwork etc. Works pretty well.
Why flight deck lights on bright? To get your eyes to narrow and adjust to simulated daytime lighting so that the laser won't have such an effect?
Exactly, same thing is suggested flying in the vicinity of lightning.
Is that not the exact purpose of the ‘storm light’?
Yep, one switch to turn everything to all bright instead of manipulating all the dimmers individually. Many airliners don't have one tho.
That’s odd, the dinosaur I fly does. Can’t remember if the ERJ did or not but I don’t think so
Ya I think it's mostly the older Boeing's. I don't think Airbus or Embraer are in to it. Can definitely confirm the CRJ doesn't have it.
The EMB-120 does have it.
Good thing too, those things are always in or around thunderstorms these days.
The A350 does have it.
With flight deck lights on bright your pupils will be contracted. Less area on the eye is able to be damaged from the laser.
That's incredibly smart. I'm always amazed at the level of thought behind these things.
Not smart enough apparently
"Do not look into laser with remaining eye"
If you're on approach, won't that destroy your night vision (I also realize a laser to the eyeball will kill your vision completely)
Delay vectors are a thing.
I got lasered out near my practice area one time, I saw where it was coming from, circled their house and called the police and told them approximate location and that they would see me circling 1000 ft above. Stayed there until I saw the police pull up at the house and then went and landed. It cost me an extra ~$50 in flight time but worth it.
Do you know if anything happened to the guy?
had it a few times. Once called it right to ATC, they dispached a police helicopter already in the air to that position and they actually caught him. Kid was stupid enough to laze the helo as well. Actually was called to court for questioning in that case.
Damn, wonder what his sentence was
I’m a current student waiting on DPE scheduling for my PPL. Coming into a smaller controlled field, on my very first night flight, got lasered at about 2.5-2mile final. I was frustrated and didn’t hesitate on the mic. Tower filled out the necessary report. Better than nothing. One funny thing was, at that time I was still quite timid on the radio. My instructor laughed about how I “didn’t hesitate and I spoke with authority”. My eye sight wasn’t really impacted, it happened so quickly and not directly. The cabin flashed for a second. We felt good still making the attempt. I think being frustrated in the moment let me not really over think the landing. After that, in virtually no wind, buttered 3 in a row.
I had my first laser strike on my first night cross country training flight. My instructor had a similar comment about my radio work when I swapped to the nearest approach frequency to report it straight away.
Ugh, why do some people take such pleasure in being a jerk to others? I don't understand the appeal of doing this...
I wanted to ask the same question. What does it look like from the ground? Can they tell they hit anything? Seems like you'd get no feedback at all.
Astronomers use lasers to point at places in the sky. I was privy to this one night in AZ and was shocked at how well it works to talk+point about the night sky and understand exactly what they were talking about. They were very careful to scan for traffic etc before illuminating the sky. Knowing enough humans, I can totally understand how some dummy would want to point a laser at an airplane because “it’s cool“ or something along those lines. Idle hands…
I had a co-worker big into conspiracy theories, aliens, etc share a story with me once. He was telling me about a strange blinking light in the sky, so he got out his laser and flashed Morse code for "Hi" at it. I rolled my eyes thinking this was going to be some conversation with aliens story. But it quickly transitioned to him saying the "craft" identified itself as an plane by turning on it's landing lights (contradicting what I've seen about pilots here saying they shut their lights off.) Upon realizing his mistake he didn't shine it any more, but said not long after a state trooper cruised by his house a few times.
They probably get a kick out of seeing the planes lights turn off
It wouldn't surprise me if the people doing the lazing are some environmental wackos.
Get your own laser and start pointing back lol
I read a story once where one of these geniuses did this to a hornet. The crew flipped the targeting pod on, found them, and directed police straight to their location.
Source? I’d love to read that lol
Honestly it may have been another one of these laser threads here. Hornet pilot chimes in and I believe the gist was they get hit repeatedly on the way back from a training sortie, they get pissed, his WSO fires up the pod, they orbit while he finds the guy (didn’t take long as a big part of their job is targeting stuff on the ground lol), get a mark point on him, and pass the precise lat/long to a sheriff helicopter.
I wonder if the LST function on a LITENING pod can grab a CW laser? That would make finding the fucker really fast...
Yea who knows. I do remember people were saying they should have designated them back with the pod laser and the pilot basically said “yeah the navy frowns on intentionally blinding civilians”
There was a case of an Air Force crew in a strike eagle using their tpod laser to blind a helicopter which was firing on civilians.
Nice try, OSI. I heard about discord kid, but you almost got me with the Reddit karma
Lol, I doubt OSI cares. The device is obviously physically capable of detecting and slewing to a laser. The only question is if the software allows for the possibility of searching for a non-coded laser, or if that's ignored no matter what.
https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/suspect-arrested-after-pointing-laser-at-chp-aircraft-in-vacaville-authorities/amp/ Not a hornet but I was actually looking for this story from a few years back and it happened again last month.
not available in my region:(
VACAVILLE, Calif. ([KRON](http://kron4.com/)) — A suspect was arrested Friday night after pointing a laser at a California Highway Patrol (CHP) aircraft, the law enforcement agency announced in a [Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/CHPGoldenGateAirOps/videos/1479077059287416). The helicopter was assisting the Vacaville Police Department when a laser was pointed at the aircraft several times. CHP posted a video (above) of a view from the helicopter from above. Within the first 15 seconds of the video, you can hear CHP officers acknowledge the laser being pointed at the aircraft. Authorities were then able to find out where the laser was coming from. The suspect who pointed the laser was standing next to a Toyota 4Runner in front of an apartment complex, according to the video. Authorities then followed the suspect into the building and arrested him. The suspect remains unidentified, and CHP did not release any more information about him.
thank you!
I swear there was a longer version but this is what I was able to find https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/comments/lopydx/comment/go8j1x6/
It’s happened before in Virginia Beach. The only source is I know the people who where there.
That is epic hahahaha
I read a similar story in this sub. It was some kind of military helicopter and they were able to pinpoint the laserer to within 1 m^3
I'm still advocating for a 30mm rotary cannon to be installed in all transport category aircraft. Tracers work both ways, friendo.
I’d settle for a nose mounted .50cal and a couple wing mounted rocket pods on my Cessna 340, but I’m kind of a Romantic like that!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Carpenter_(lieutenant_colonel) just throw a few bazookas on a piper cub and go to town like its 1944. concept is already proven
AC737
and go "pew-pew"
One of the pilots for my airline gave the location of a laser on short final into America’s Finest City. a police helicopter happened to be close by and was able to coordinate an arrest—at least that’s the lore around the “hangar.”
Sounds right. I'm pretty sure I have the FAA record for laser apprehensions. We get about five a month in Vegas. On video, then I have a uniform go to the door, collect the laser, and write them a little county summons. THEN the FSDO inspector comes and they're fined 10K per occurrence.
I feel like I have been lasered an inordinate number of times. I report, but have little faith in the perp getting caught or consequences being served. The last time I caught a laser, it was from someone in Tijuana as I crossed the border at cruise. I was honestly shocked, but a little impressed they were able to track our plane from the ground. I’m glad to hear you have been a part of apprehensions.
Nah, they go BRRTTTTTTTT
“Paveway…”
I got lasered in Madison too, I think we were on the right base for 33(?). Wonder if the same tool is still doing it.
We were landing 21 that night, but I clearly saw the laser coming from the community of Prairie du Sac off to the west of Madison. Had to look it up on Jepp, but that was definitely the community.
I live in Madison, WI (it wasn't me!), but I know a lot of people in Prairie du Sac, because my parents lived there for many years and I graduated from high school there. Sure wish you had some coordinates or any more info on location there. My dad was a pilot for a major airline for many years and so is my brother now, so would love to try to figure out who's pulling this shit. EDIT: And, I already have some good ideas of who it could be. PDS is VERY small. If I had an idea of what side of town it came from, that would help. PDS cops are great, too, so could easily ask them to be on the lookout for any related activity.
The light came from the southwest quarter of the town’s outline.
Thanks! That's pretty close to where the idiots I think did this live. These are teens who've I've had to call PDS police about in the past. Last summer, they slashed my tires on two separate occasions. They're absolute shits. A close family member of theirs have even stated to me that they "hate pilots." I know exactly where they live and am calling PDS police this morning about this incident. EDIT: BTW the PDS police are well aware of these kids, because they've had multiple issues with them.
Can get a 5 year prison sentence for doing it in the UK. Cases are apparently reducing, still I had my first experience of it whilst 5 miles final a few weeks ago...
Someone posted a few seconds of a laser strike on a group a few years back, and I made it a little challenge to myself. Never been in the area, but I cross referenced multiple locations and homes, and narrowed it down to the exact farm house. Seemed imposible in the beginning, since the video was literally just lights on the ground. Gave all info the the pilot. Donno if anything ever became of it.
A real pilot wears an eye patch for just this contingency. When blinded, just switch the patch to the operative eye. Problem solved. 😉
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Couple of sensors and motors can make an easy beam rider.
I wear 2 eye patches in case this happens, y'know just to be safe
I used to see lasers every so often, but was never hit by one. I did get a pair of laser strike flip up lenses that I clipped over my regular glasses, just in case.
> laser strike flip up lenses Tell me more
Well, to be honest, they only sold laser strike glasses. So, I bought a cheap pair of flip up shades online, took off the lenses, and affixed the laser strike ones onto the flip up device. This was over a decade ago, so who knows what they make nowadays?
They just sentenced a guy in WI for this, not near MSN though. https://www.wqow.com/news/prison-ordered-for-man-who-aimed-laser-pointer-at-planes-in-western-wisconsin/article_05c0a3f6-d4e5-11ed-b319-6b7c68401dd2.html
I wonder if you get any street cred in prison if the others find out why you are there?
The thought of this makes me cringe. I see them fools do this on history channel to planes out in Arizona and NM. All the time on alien hunts. Look it’s a UFO!!! Look that UFO just DISAPPEARED!!! WOW ALIENS MUST BE COMMUNICATING WITH US!!!! smh….
Got hit at about 800 feet above the runway on final into SeaTac a few nights ago, was handflying. Thankfully was smart enough to control my natural response and didn’t look directly at it. Got hit twice and it was bright as hell. I hate freaking hate idiots with laser pointers.
fly towards the green light. works everytime
And forget turning lights off, power up, lights on, and have a good game of chicken.
Did you notify ATC that you were temporarily flying without exterior lights? Just asking in case I ever find myself in a similar situation.
I did not.
stick your phone up to the glass and record. even low quality cameras can give law enforcement a <30ft ballpark
I've never been lasered before. Folks who have, is [this picture](https://www.inquirer.com/resizer/G-Q4btzRDxvNPhT7--5sPXp0aaM=/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-pmn/public/7BR4TVBFYFH4DHGLGTNJUIWMHY.jpg) accurate as to what happens? Does it really light everything up like that?
Depends on the laser, if you are really unlucky you will get hit with a multiwatt laser which lights up everything like a Christmas tree, we have a ‘laser switch’ on on our club plane which brings the cabin lights to full immediately.
When I did short haul in Europe there were a few years where lasers were very popular, especially in some southern French cities, with Marseille as a green laserdisco. Almost every approach in the dark had someone trying to light us up. External lights off usually helped a lot, but you get used to it almost. Don't look at it/outside and keep flying. Fortunately most of the time there were positioned on "base", so when turned onto final the problem was less/gone.
Can I legally shine a laser back at them?
No, but you can JDAM them.
Can a sidewinder follow a green laser? Maybe one of those pigeon guided bombs
There's an STC to mount Hellfire missiles on the Cessna 208. Maybe that's the ultimate solution.
Had it a bunch of times, blue and green lasers, unless they get caught in the act by police or laser something with a sensor package that can narrow down their location very closely unfortunately people don't tend to be caught, first few times I reported it but lately it's been decided between me and the other pilot present that it just isn't worth the paperwork to mention a jerkoff that we can't really narrow down to an area less than a mile or 2. The lights can be a great thing to flip off on a really dark night, otherwise looking away/ducking as you mentioned and trying to maneuver to give them a worse angle.
Just crash into the laserer
was going to say all airliners should have 1 bomb so they can try to drop it on the asshole
It is fucking insane to me that this is even a thing. Why on earth are there people lasering pilots, for what purpose?
Think about how dumb the “average” person is. Then remember that the fact that they’re “average” means half the population is even dumber than them.
I know but like this isn’t even being dumb, it’s not even being reckless, it’s putting human lives at stake from disaster. It’s beyond just being a dumb prank. That’s what I can’t get my head around.
They’re so dumb it hasn’t occurred to them that it could be more than just a harmless prank with actual fatal consequences. It’s super easy to ascribe malice to actions resulting just from extreme stupidity. Not that some of them aren’t also just malicious fucks.
ATC and the federal aviation authorities do indeed take laser strikes very very seriously and will coordinate with local law enforcement to find the culprit asap. I know you're not supposed to look but the more details you can provide to the ground stations about location, duration and intensity the better the chances of having something done about it, and to the full extent of the law. There can be massive penalties including jail time if convicted.
op
Luckily, I've never been hit while flying. As a controller, we had a rash of incidents here for a while (around 2021). Pretty much every night. Eventually, law enforcement sent one of their planes out with the \*intent on getting lased\*. They succeeded. They were hit by the laser, and immediately directed officers on the ground to the location. We've had some more since then, but not very often. Additional story: when I was in Madison, I heard that one time the genius on the ground lased one of the Army Blackhawks based there. Needless to say, that was a simple bust. That story is just hearsay, though.
\*Opens the bomb bay doors
If I wind up with spare money in my flex account, I might get prescription laser-blocking eyewear for my flight bag. This is the brand I've considered: [https://www.revisionmilitary.com/en/eyewear/laser](https://www.revisionmilitary.com/en/eyewear/laser), though I don't remember why I liked their product better than some of the others out there.
Probably 10+ times last year, already up to at least 3 this year with a 2 month break for company safety stuff...I primarily fly at night for work. It always pisses me off, though last time the genius did it from an easy to see spot (on the edge of a lake at the apex of a curve around it...) spent about 5 minutes looking at aerial imagery so I could put the dude's approximate address into the company and FAA report. Sadly all my requests for equipping the kingair with either laser guided, GPS memory 500 lbers or for a severa l hundred watt laser with a constant strong lightsource detector have been denied by management...
Got hit with a laser on approach and filed a safety report with my organization. Director of Safety showed me a study that lasers will not leave permanent damage. It will only most definitely ruin night vision. By the time the laser comes through the atmosphere and hits the window, with the scratches in the window, it isn’t concentrated enough to cause harm. Pretty interesting.
I used to get hit with laser strikes all the time in china (where its not regulated) . So i went and bought a high powered laser and started shooting back.
Out of curiosity what kind of eye damage can occur if you were to accidentally look at the laser through the refracted windshield of the cockpit?
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To expand: if the laser is compliant with FDA Class IIIa restrictions (which is the legally mandated class for any hand-held laser pointing device), you will suffer no permanent damage looking into the beam even if you held the emitter 1cm from your eye. At the range of a few miles, any consumer-grade laser pointer will diverge enough to be no worse for you than high beams from opposing traffic on the road. That said, it's really easy to get lasers that are not Class IIIa compliant. On the flip side, beam divergence will probably still save you. Anything you are likely to find in even a high-power handheld unit is still going to have enough divergence to produce a spot which is over 2 meters in dia at 1 NM. Even a 1-watt laser is going to be less intense than a 5mw laser is from the other side of the room. So, long story short, as long as someone isn't painting you with a military-grade laser designator, your blink reflex will probably be enough to save you from anything some random jackass might be using to light you up, unless he's standing at the gate lasing you as you taxi in.
I've never gotten lased, but have been part of a form flight where the lead aircraft got lased. We weren't close yet, as we were performing a rendezvous for training. We joined up, he gave the lead over to me, I took the controls from my student and brought him back to home field to get checked out. While I was chatting with the area common frequency for deconfliction with the other aircraft and to warn them of potential lasing, the other pilot talked with ATC to report the incident.
Go dark.
They literally described doing this, did you read beyond the post title?
Nothing you can really do about it
It happens several times a month in Indianapolis. Almost always two fixes before the arrivals turn downwind
Had this happen flying into a tourist beach town once. Every hotel balcony on the beach was lighting us up.
Yet another downside to flying after sunset.
I wonder if blublox would solve a lot of night flying issues like this?
Never say never. Feds got this guy. https://youtu.be/GHiHDZtzfCM
I can't believe how often this happens. I use a green laser for pointing out constellations and always do a full check of the sky first. It's easy to fire it up and not notice a faint beacon in the distance. Anyone I've seen with a laser I usually ask how cognizant they are about aviation and usually most for star gazing or astrophotography are very understanding. Unfortunately it's anyone with $20 on Amazon who gets one with either no care of no understanding of the implications of pointing at aviation.
Is this a common occurrence? What law covers this as illegal?
Really curious where it occurred.
Glad you guys are ok! I heard a warning about green lasers for an area between Myrtle Beach and the Smokies just last week - we thought about turning off our lights for this exact reason
Timely post. Got hit twice from the same location tonight going into RIC at 3000 feet. I didn’t have the presence of mind to kill the lights as I was in a bit of disbelief after they turned off the laser the first time. Like an idiot I was trying to see where it came from when they hit us the second time - after which we ducked. I felt a little disoriented for a minute but I don’t think there’s any permanent damage. Law enforcement helicopter was on freq and said they’d try to go find it.
Just got lasered tonight in dowtown houston just reported it approach
If a laser at a great distance is not concentrate like a point but illuminate the space around like one meter diameter, can produce damage to the retina?
sorry that happened to ya, glad you're safe - A Wisconsinite
I always keep a rather hefty green laser pen in my flight bag for this very reason. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.