NEVER aim laser pointers at aircraft!

It is unsafe, you may be arrested, and you may help get laser pointers banned

Here’s why you should NEVER aim a laser pointer at an airplane or helicopter:

Distracting or flashblinding pilots is dangerous

When a laser beam is on an aircraft, pilots see a flash of light. This can be distracting at best. Worse, the light can be so bright it causes glare (pilots can’t see past the light) or temporary flashblindness (like getting a camera flash in your eye). Also, some pilots have thought a laser gunsight was being aimed at them, so they have taken evasive action on takeoff or landing.

Glare from a legal 5 milliwatt laser pointer located 1200 feet from an aircraft. The pilot cannot see the runway when the laser is on the cockpit window. More photos from this test are here and here; a photo from a helicopter is here.

It is BAD for you!

You may be ARRESTED

Laser users are frequently arrested for aiming at airplanes or helicopters. It is surprisingly easy to find you. And as authorities take laser incidents more seriously, they are putting more effort into finding perpetrators:

1. Police helicopter is targeted by laser pointer on the ground. 2: Helicopter crew use Laser Event Recorder to locate pointer via GPS, and record its wavelength. 3: GPS details enable helicopter’s thermal (infrared) camera to find suspect, and send police patrol on the ground to arrest the person.

Photo from BBC News article

You may go to TRIAL

This is expensive and a major hassle. You do NOT want to hire a lawyer to represent you in a trial with a state or federal prosecutor.

You may go to JAIL

In October 2008, a California man was sentenced to two years in prison for aiming a 3 milliwatt laser pointer at an aircraft. Note that this was a 3 MILLIwatt laser, about the same strength as a 2.5 milliwatt supermarket scanner laser. In January 2009, a Cleveland Ohio man was sentenced to three years in prison for hitting two airplanes and two helicopters.

You may get SHOT

Because laser gunsights are common, police get very worried when someone points a laser at them. In Florida, a man was killed when he refused to stop pointing lasers at officers. You don’t want to cause any misunderstanding where officers in a targeted police helicopter “shoot first and ask questions later”.

It is BAD for other laser pointer users

Laser pointers may be BANNED

Laser-aircraft incidents happen about once per day in the U.S. You can understand that pilots and the FAA are upset about this. If laser pointers were banned in the U.S., this would be fine with them. Other countries such as Canada and the U.K. also are considering bans on laser pointer sales.

So if you like using laser pointers, don’t screw it up by adding to the long list of laser incidents.

Laser pointers have already been banned in an Australian state
New South Wales officials got fed up after lasers hit airplanes landing at Sydney’s airport, in March 2008. The Australian state banned laser pointers and put them in the same “dangerous weapon” category as guns and crossbows. Possession and/or misuse of laser pointers can get you a fine or even up to 14 years (!) in prison.

How to stay safe and keep laser pointers legal:

NEVER aim a laser beam at an aircraft, a vehicle, or towards strangers. In other words, DON’T ANNOY PEOPLE WITH THE LASER BEAM.

Orignal Article found at: http://www.laserpointersafety.com/