Green Laser(ed)

[nyoung]

Well, it finally happened. On the SW side of Chicago (near Bolingbrook, IL) at 3200MSL (~2400 AGL), I got green lasered. One quick swipe of the laser got my attention, and of course, I then looked right at the ground to see 'what was that?'.

The person then retargeted the laser on the plane, and managed to hit it a few times. Before I could avert my vision, a bit of the laser 'hit me'. Nothing too bad from a vision standpoint (maybe some lost night vision?), but it did seem pretty bright.

Not surprisingly, it was really easy to see pretty close to exactly where the laser originated. If my Garmin 396 had precise streetmaps, I could have given a street address.

I was VFR without Flight Following, so I flew to the laser source, made a few orbits while calling approach to make a report. Approach thanked me, and then warned the next few aircraft in the area, but I didn't hear of any other reports on frequency.

Anybody else been 'hit'?

 

[colohan]

Anybody else been 'hit'?

I was a passenger on a commercial plane (United?) flying back from Chicago to San Francisco. I was looking out the window playing "spot the airport" over Tracy, looking to the right at Stockton. Saw the brightest green flash I've ever seen, obliterated my view of Stockton for a split second.

When I got to the front of the plane at the end of the flight I reported it to the flight attendants, and they told me that the flight crew had already left, and to report it to the FAA... (The FAA does not appear to have a procedure for reports from passengers. :smile: )

Chris

 

[gprellwitz]

Nathan,
Since I'm the ASN volunteer at Bolingbrook, I'm interested in the details. Could you PM me? I'd like to disseminate to the local community.

 

[gprellwitz]

Thanks for the info, Nathan. I've passed the sighting along to the airport manager and FBO. Note that the FAA has an Advisory Circular 70-2 on dealing with and reporting this type of event.They take this seriously, and will send out notices to aircraft in the area when it's reported immediately, as you witnessed.

 

[gismo]

Well, it finally happened. On the SW side of Chicago (near Bolingbrook, IL) at 3200MSL (~2400 AGL), I got green lasered. One quick swipe of the laser got my attention, and of course, I then looked right at the ground to see 'what was that?'.

The person then retargeted the laser on the plane, and managed to hit it a few times. Before I could avert my vision, a bit of the laser 'hit me'. Nothing too bad from a vision standpoint (maybe some lost night vision?), but it did seem pretty bright.

From your description it doesn't sound like the laser "blinded" you beyond the time you were looking at the direct source. I've wondered why some (airline) pilots have made such a big deal of this given the likely intensity at or beyond a half mile or so. Not that I think it's harmless, but I've got a fair amount of experience with various lasers and baring a setup with serious optics (think telescope in reverse) and a sophisticated tracking system (if the beam wasn't wide a perp would never be able to hold it on the pilot's eyes manually) I'd expect the major factor to be simply the surprise and inability to see much while the laser is illuminating the cockpit.

 

[weilke]

There should be a low-budget laser-homing missile available for those creatures. Quick to lock, fire and forget and with a warhead just big enough to get the perp without damaging the rest of the trailer-park .

 

[gismo]

There should be a low-budget laser-homing missile available for those creatures. Quick to lock, fire and forget and with a warhead just big enough to get the perp without damaging the rest of the trailer-park .

Heck, it could be just a paint "bomb" (ideally one with a really bad smell) that marks the perp for easy identification by the authorities. An interesting alternative would be a collapsable parabolic mirror to return the photons to the source.

 

[bluesky74656]

Not by a laser, but on at least two occasions I've been lit up by what I think was a high powered flashlight. It didn't blind me, but the flash as it swept across the plane immediately made me think it was another plane's strobe light in very close proximity. On the first occasion I even took some evasive action before I figured out what was going on.

 

[jesse]

I got hit by a green flash several years back. I was over a pretty rural area. It was annoying but it didn't really cause any safety issues for me.

 

[sba55]

Reference 7110.65

 

[gprellwitz]

I flew to the laser source, made a few orbits while calling approach to make a report

Reference 7110.65

expect aircrews to regard lasers as an inflight emergency and may take evasive action to avoid laser illumination.

Nathan apparently considers it somewhat less than an emergency. Can't say I disagree, but the potential is there, and we want to get this stopped. Kind of like the lady shooting a gun at an overflying plane (reference Uncontrolled Airspace Podcast (episode 152?)). Chances are pretty good that she's not going to do you much if any damage, but I bloody well want it stopped ASAP!

 

[nyoung]

Exactly. @ ~2400 AGL - the laser wasn't going to blind us, but it certainly did startle me, ****ed me off, and briefly affected the night vision in one of my eyes. Not a big deal in cruise flight, but someone landing at Clow might have had a different experience.

I am going to look into an STC for wing mounting roman candles.

Nathan apparently considers it somewhat less than an emergency. Can't say I disagree, but the potential is there, and we want to get this stopped. Kind of like the lady shooting a gun at an overflying plane (reference Uncontrolled Airspace Podcast (episode 152?)). Chances are pretty good that she's not going to do you much if any damage, but I bloody well want it stopped ASAP!

 

[sba55]

Nathan apparently considers it somewhat less than an emergency. Can't say I disagree, but the potential is there, and we want to get this stopped. Kind of like the lady shooting a gun at an overflying plane (reference Uncontrolled Airspace Podcast (episode 152?)). Chances are pretty good that she's not going to do you much if any damage, but I bloody well want it stopped ASAP!

Agree on both counts. I would also question someone's sanity if they are deranged enough to point lasers or guns at aircraft; who knows what else they are going to do?

Hope they catch those people. This has got to be at least a misdemeanor, if not a felony?

-Felix

 

[gprellwitz]

Agree on both counts. I would also question someone's sanity if they are deranged enough to point lasers or guns at aircraft; who knows what else they are going to do?

Hope they catch those people. This has got to be at least a misdemeanor, if not a felony?

-Felix

Well, in 2005:

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would carry a $250,000 fine and a possible five-year prison term for people who point lasers at aircraft.

and in February of this year in San Diego, someone was sentenced to 8 months for

Discharging a Laser at an Occupied Aircraft in violation of Penal Code section 247.5, a felony.

 

[John Baker]

About a month or so ago there was a blurb on the evening news about some idiot pointing a laser at a police helicopter. They caught the dimwit and said it was a laser pointer.

I have a laser pointer that shoots out a red beam. It looks and is the size of a pen. I find it handy for screwing with my cats mind from time to time, that is about all it seems to be good for.

My question is, could one of the small, hand held laser pointers, be bright enough to put an aircraft at risk? I don't think I have ever seen a pointer that emits a green light.

John

 

[azure]

My question is, could one of the small, hand held laser pointers, be bright enough to put an aircraft at risk? I don't think I have ever seen a pointer that emits a green light.

John

I've used a green pointer in my astronomy lectures. They run $40-50 at Radio Shack and they're considerably brighter than the cheap red beam ones. You can see the beam on an object 50m away, so I don't doubt it could be distracting at 500 feet or so. But at 3000 AGL? I have my doubts too, though I've no interest in putting them to a test.

 

[weilke]

My question is, could one of the small, hand held laser pointers, be bright enough to put an aircraft at risk? I don't think I have ever seen a pointer that emits a green light.

The laser-pointer dohicky has a little 3-5mWl laser-diode to make its red dot. Odds are, you couldn't paint a plane from 200ft away if you tried. Even if you directly look into them, all you are going to have is a temporary effect. The green-lasers are a bit more powerful (up to 800mW), the kind you don't want to point into someones eye.

 

[etsisk]

the lasers that these idiots are using are strong enough to light matches from a distance. They're a lot stronger than a laser pointer.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

I haven't been lasered, but I did get shined (and briefly tracked) by someone with a spotlight one night...

 

[John Baker]

The laser-pointer dohicky has a little 3-5mWl laser-diode to make its red dot. Odds are, you couldn't paint a plane from 200ft away if you tried. Even if you directly look into them, all you are going to have is a temporary effect. The green-lasers are a bit more powerful (up to 800mW), the kind you don't want to point into someones eye.

Thanks for the info. My little red laser pointer works great on raccoons, they go as nuts as my cat does chasing the spot all over my yard. Skunks just ignore it.

I've always been careful to not shine the beam in their eyes. It is good to know it wont do them harm should I ever accidentally hit one of them there.

I will not put it to the test with the critters or an airplane. Injuring a creature or spending even one of my days in the slammer has absolutely no appeal at all to me.

John

 

[weilke]

I've always been careful to not shine the beam in their eyes. It is good to know it wont do them harm should I ever accidentally hit one of them there.

There are creatures I wouldn't mind using one of these on:

(12kW CO2 laser used to cut thick slabs of steel, with
a well designed beam-guide it would probably allow me
to vaporize the neighbors cat in a painless and clean
manner)