Thursday, April 4, 2013

Federal Government Cracks Down on Offenders Who Point Lasers at Aircraft

The Federal Government has gotten tough on people who point lasers at aircraft in flight. Recently, a nineteen year old man was sentenced to 30 months in prison for pointing a laser at an aircraft as it was on approach to land at Burbank airport. The man was charged with a violation of federal statute 18 U.S.C. § 39A. The statute, passed into law in 2012, makes it a crime for anyone to knowingly point a laser pointer at an aircraft in U.S. Airspace. The statute calls for either a prison term not to exceed 5 years, a fine or both.

“Why does this issue require such stiff penalties?” The answer may not be patently obvious. In 2011, there were more than 3,600 reported laser pointer incidents. The beam of a laser pointer disperses and fills the cockpit. The light can blind the pilots making it impossible for them to see the controls and maintain control of the aircraft. If the laser light is green, then the danger to the pilots escalates exponentially because the human eye is susceptible to injury from light in the yellow-green spectrum. The tiny beam from the laser pointer that makes a dot on the ground expands with distance. A mere five hundred feet away the dot expands to a width of 6 feet. The beam disperses into the cockpit that blinds the cockpit crew. The resulting blindness can cause catastrophic loss of life to the people in the aircraft and the loss of life to people on the ground. In addition to the law recently passed, shining a laser pointer into an aircraft constitutes interference with the operation of an aircraft, which carries a possible penalty of a prison term of 20 years and/or a fine of $250,000. The recent sentence from the Federal Judge sends a clear message, don’t point lasers at aircraft.

To report a laser pointer incident in flight, pilots should contact the FAA or dial 911. If you have questions about the laser pointer law, then contact Ronnie Gipson by email at Gipson@higagipsonllp.com or by telephone at 415.692.6523.

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