Five airplanes in New York area hit by laser lights, FAA says

By Alice Popovici NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal authorities said on Friday they were looking for whoever was responsible for pointing a green laser light at five airplanes flying above New York's Long Island and New Jersey the previous evening, jeopardizing air safety. Lights hit four planes flying at an altitude of about 8,000 feet about 4 miles northwest of Farmingdale, New York, sometime between 9:30 p.m. EST and 10 p.m., and a plane flying southwest of John F. Kenney Airport at about 11:30 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. No injuries were reported in the incidents. The flights included American Airlines 185, Shuttle America 4213, Delta Airlines 2292 and 2634 flying above Long Island, and Sun Country Airlines 249 flying above New Jersey. The Nassau County, New York, Police Department and the New Jersey State Police said they are working with the FAA on the investigation but no details were immediately available. Aiming a laser pointer at a plane is “a serious safety risk” because it can “completely incapacitate pilots,” the FAA says on its website. Nationwide, the agency has recorded 1,976 laser incidents so far this year, including 36 at LaGuardia Airport, three at John F. Kennedy International Airport and 21 at Newark Liberty International Airport. Last year, some 3,894 incidents were reported, or 10 times more than in 2006, when 384 incidents were recorded. In March, New York City authorities arrested a man they believe pointed a laser at an airplane and two police helicopters from his Bronx apartment, causing injuries to pilots’ eyes, according to a New York Police Department. He was charged with felony assault, among other charges. Pointing a laser light at an aircraft is a federal crime that carries a fine of up to $250,000 and five years in prison. (Editing by Frank McGurty and Bill Trott)