FAA investigating series of laser strikes on aircraft in three states
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a series of overnight laser strikes on aircraft in three states.
Two occurred in the New York City area on Wednesday night, when green lasers were seen being pointed at news helicopters in separate incidents in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Newark, N.J.; three others were reported near Dallas, where the pilots of two commercial airliners and a private jet said they were struck.
In Brooklyn, NBC New York's Chopper 4 was on its way to cover the arrest of a man who allegedly stole a Greyhound bus when it was struck by a laser.
According to the network, the helicopter pilot and a reporter traveling in it alerted police and were able to pinpoint the source of the laser behind a restaurant in Prospect Heights. The reporter, Dennis Protsko, "rotated Chopper 4's camera and spotted a group of what appeared to be workers behind a health food restaurant pointing the laser not only at Chopper 4, but also at an NYPD chopper when it came to investigate."
In video footage of the incident, the workers appeared to be laughing as they pointed the handheld laser at the helicopter as it hovered at an altitude of 1,500 feet. Two of the men were taken into custody by the NYPD and one was arrested and charged with two counts of reckless endangerment.
In New Jersey, WABC-TV reported its news helicopter was struck by a laser near the Newark Airport late Wednesday afternoon. A suspect was later taken into custody by police in Elizabeth, N.J., the network said.
"You get hit in the face like that, in the eyes, and you can go temporarily blind," Protsko said. "We're talking about a helicopter that weighs almost two tons. Imagine that coming down on your house because the pilot's vision is impaired. Even more serious if it was a jetliner."
In Texas, the pilots of three different planes — two commercial airliners and a private jet — reported being struck by a laser about 11 miles southeast of Dallas at about 7:30 p.m., according to the FAA.
All three aircraft were flying at altitudes between 3,000 and 4,000 feet near the Dallas Love Field Airport when they were hit, the FAA said. The commercial planes — a Virgin America Airbus A319 and a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 — were en route to Dallas from Austin.
A Dallas police helicopter was dispatched to assist in a search for the source of the laser, but "no suspects were located,” a DPD spokeswoman told the Dallas Morning News Thursday morning.
It is a federal crime to point a laser at an aircraft — punishable by up 20 years in prison — and the FBI has stepped up efforts in recent years to crack down on those who do it.
In 2014, the FBI offered a reward up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of anyone who aimed a laser pointer at an aircraft.
"You can use a laser to make your cat chase its tail, but aim it at an aircraft and you could be needing bail," said a PSA coinciding with the initiative. "Don't let a prank lead to prison."
The three-month program led to a 19 percent decrease in reported strikes, the bureau said.
According to the FAA, there were 3,894 reported laser incidents in the United States and Puerto Rico in 2014, down from 3,960 the year before.
