EWR 11 Laser Attacks In One Night

[A Life Aloft]

"Eleven commercial flights reported lasers pointed at them Wednesday night as they flew over New Jersey -- the latest in a growing number of such dangerous incidents plaguing U.S. skies.

There was no indication the 11 incidents detailed Thursday by the Federal Aviation Administration led to any notable injuries or accidents, in the air or on the ground. Still, they speak to an alarming trend in which more and more people are directing powerful handheld lasers at passing aircraft -- endangering crews, not to mention the passengers they are responsible for.

About half of the incidents reported by the FAA were close to Newark Liberty International Airport, while the others occurred elsewhere in New Jersey -- from Robbinsville, near the Pennsylvania border, to Ocean City, along the Atlantic Ocean in the southeast corner of the state.

Three American Airlines planes were among those affected, as were two from JetBlue and one each from United, Delta and Republic.

Porter 141 was at 3,000 feet 15 miles southwest of the airport; American Airlines 1472 was 20 miles southwest; and American Airlines 966 was at 3,000 feet, 15 miles south of Newark.

American Flight 348 was at 9,000 feet, headed to LaGuardia Airport.

Two flights were over Monmouth County. Republic Airlines 4632 was at 9,000 feet, bound for Pittsburgh and United 330 was at 9,000 feet.

JetBlue Flight 2779 did not report its location, and one aircraft reported it was hit by a laser over Ocean City, the FAA said.

Three flights were at 3,000 feet and were 4 miles south of the Outerbridge Crossing, which connects Perth Amboy to Staten Island, New York.

Five planes informed air traffic controllers in the Newark Liberty tower "that lasers were being pointed at them" between 10 and 11 p.m. Wednesday, according to Ron Marisco, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the Newark airport as well as Kennedy and LaGuardia airports in New York.

"The incidents are under investigation," Marisco said.

There were 3,894 such strikes reported in 2014, the FAA says. For comparison's sake, there were only 283 in 2005.

Newark Airport had 28 reported laser-pointing incidents last year, according to the office of Sen.Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The most recent were two incidents were this March.

Nearby New York City airports have reported similar incidents, particularly with green lasers, which are considered more dangerous than red lasers because they are more visible to the human eye.

In 2014, Schumer's office reported, there were 17 green laser incidents out of a total 19 laser incidents at John F. Kennedy International Airport and 37 green laser incidents out of a total 41 laser incidents at LaGuardia Airport."


It's only a matter of time before some poor pilot is going to have his eye(s) permanently damaged by this b.s. and lose his career.

 

[🦈💜]

It's only a matter of time before some poor pilot is going to have his eye(s) permanently damaged by this b.s. and lose his career.

Is that realistic? Obviously such events can be extremely disorienting, but I've always had difficulty in discerning the modality of permanent damage occurring as a result. (Absent the possibility of becoming disoriented and flying into the ground, obviously)

I'm not saying it's not possible. Obviously with a strong enough laser, you can vaporize the cockpit. But I'm inherently skeptical about laser diodes causing permanent eye injury at distances of a mile, in atmosphere, through a windscreen. This could easily be my own ignorance.

If this is possible, I invite you to educate me.

-Fox

 

[A Life Aloft]

It's not common but it is possible to suffer cornea damage if you get a direct hit. A Jet Blue pilot an eye injury back in 2012 because of a laser incident.

From an FAA news bulletin:

The three visual effects that could impact pilot operations during a laser illumination are:

• Flash blindness – A temporary visual • interference effect that persists after being “lased,” similar to a bright camera flash.
• Afterimage – A distracting shadow image left • in the visual field after exposure to a bright light that can last for several minutes.
• Glare – An object in a person’s field of vision • being obscured due to a bright light source near the same line of sight.

“The severity of these visual effects can vary greatly among pilots,” says Dr. Nakagawara. “Factors such as age and existing eye condition can prolong the recovery time for normal vision after a laser event. Some pilots can even experience a temporary total loss of vision.”

Dr. Nakagawara and his team at the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) in Oklahoma City keep a close watch on laser events nationwide and report regularly on any notable trends. Dr. Nakagawara also participates in several industry and government groups, including the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the SAE G10T (Laser Safety Hazards) Subcommittee, the latter of which he chairs. Dr. Nakagawara’s experience with these groups helps keep the Vision Research Team abreast of changes and proactive with new developments in the laser industry.

Here's another example:

January 17, 2014 8:20 am

"A pilot suffered a burn to his eye early Friday morning after someone shined a laser beam into a medical helicopter.

Michael Pruitt, 30, was transporting a patient around 4:35 a.m. in the 2400 block of Walnut Hill Lane near Interstate 35E in Northwest Dallas when a green laser light hit him in the right eye, according to a police report.

The helicopter was traveling to St. Paul University hospital. The pilot landed at Dallas Love Field, and an ambulance took the patient to the hospital, police said.

Pruitt reported he was still unable to see out of his right eye shortly after the incident, the police report said."

A DAL pilot had an issue:

"The Washington Times is reporting that laser light from an unknown source injured a pilot's eye as he was flying a Boeing 737 from Dallas to Salt Lake City. A 5 milliwatt laser pointer is strong enough to damage a person's eye, and stronger laser's are not that hard to come by.

A pilot flying a Delta Air Lines jet was injured by a laser that illuminated the cockpit of the aircraft as it approached Salt Lake City International Airport last week, U.S. officials said.

The plane’s two pilots reported that the Boeing 737 had been five miles from the airport when they saw a laser beam inside the cockpit, said officials familiar with government reports of the Sept. 22 incident. The flight, which originated in Dallas, landed without further incident at about 9:30 p.m. local time.

A short while later, however, the first officer felt a stinging sensation in one eye. A doctor who examined the pilot determined that he had suffered a burned retina from exposure to a laser device, the officials said.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spokeswoman Yolanda Clark confirmed the incident, but declined to provide details. “TSA is aware of the incident, and we are working with the airline in conducting an investigation to try and determine the cause of the incident,” Miss Clark said.

She would not say whether TSA considers the incident a possible security threat to commercial aircraft. Other officials said the incident was serious enough that the pilot will be unable to fly for at least a week.

“So far, it doesn’t sound like there will be permanent [eye] damage,” one official said. The identity of the pilot could not be learned, and Delta spokesman Anthony Black declined to comment.

John Mazor, a spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association, said commercial pilots have been exposed to laser illumination. “The Air Line Pilots Association has received reports in the past of incidents where lasers penetrated cockpits and, in at least one case, caused injury,” Mr. Mazor said.

Several years ago, a pilot flying into a Western airport was hit by a light from a laser light show. The causes of the other incidents are not known, he said.

Military personnel also have suffered eye damage from laser illumination.

In one case, Naval Lt. Cmdr. Jack Daly and Canadian helicopter pilot Capt. Pat Barnes suffered eye injuries hours after an aerial surveillance mission to photograph a Russian merchant ship that had been shadowing the ballistic-missile submarine USS Ohio in Washington state’s Strait of Juan de Fuca.

“Numerous documented cases regarding the use of lasers against aircraft, civilians and military personnel exist, as well as does an all-too-lengthy list of the injuries that have resulted from the accidental and intentional misuse of these devices,” Cmdr. Daly told a House Armed Services subcommittee.

He noted that incidents of lasers being directed at commercial airliners during takeoff and landings have raised fears that “this in fact may be a new form of terrorism.”

“Lasers are easily obtainable and can be self-manufactured weapons in the terrorist arsenal, which essentially can effect a soft-kill solution and leave virtually no detectable evidence,” he said.

 

[RDoug]

I thought there were already reports of permanent eye damage post-laser attack. I know that green astronomy laser pointers are certainly powerful enough to cause such damage, but I don't know at what ranges the danger falls below the permanent-damage threshold.

 

[n57flyguy]

I really think there should be a team that instigates these attacks in known places where they occur. I believe they did this in Oregon - might have been FBI related.

I got hit once, we found the house, worked with local police support, and found the guy.

 

[🦈💜]

I was really hoping for something a bit more solid than press releases, which are extremely anecdotal.

-Fox

 

[A Life Aloft]

That's all I have time to dig up at the moment; you could also try and research some material yourself. I didn't realize that the FAA bulletin was anecdotal nor Cmdr. Daly's testimony.

 

[PositionAndHold]

I was really hoping for something a bit more solid than press releases, which are extremely anecdotal.

-Fox

Just making sure you realize these aren't your average laser pointers? A guy I know brought one back from China. It takes D cell batteries, is very powerful and they sell ones even more powerful. He showed me a video of him igniting cardboard and wood from 30-40 feet within a few seconds. I realize 3,000 feet is a lot different but after seeing that video it gave me a whole new perspective on these laser incidents.

 

[A Life Aloft]

Just making sure you realize these aren't your average laser pointers? A guy I know brought one back from China. It takes D cell batteries, is very powerful and they sell ones even more powerful. He showed me a video of him igniting cardboard and wood from 30-40 feet within a few seconds. I realize 3,000 feet is a lot different but after seeing that video it gave me a whole new perspective on these laser incidents.

That's the point, we aren't talking about the little lasers that you buy for a couple of bucks at the pet store that your cat chases around the living room. Look at some of the laser pointers that are readily available on astronomy equipment venues and other sites/areas on the internet and also what people can construct on their own.

 

[A Life Aloft]

Powerful Lasers Easy to Buy, Experts Say
By BENJAMIN MUELLERMARCH 12, 2015


Stargazers use them to pick out constellations, teachers to direct students’ eyes, and pet lovers to make their cats dance.

But the more malicious uses of laser pointers received renewed attention this week when a Bronx man was charged with aiming a bright green light into the New York City sky. The authorities said the actions of the man, Frank J. Egan, 36, injured the eyes of four pilots and jeopardized their ability to fly.

For a small, mostly covert community of laser devotees, industrial-grade pointers continue to be fairly easy to buy, laser experts said, even as the marketplace has moved online. People write on message boards of using them to guide others through dark places and of imitating Luke Skywalker with his glowing light saber.

One YouTube tutorial promises a lesson on how to “destroy stuff with a high power laser pointer.” Among the victims of the laser’s bright green beam are electrical tape and a metal tube. It is also used to ignite matches from several feet away.

Legal experts said the laser that the police accused Mr. Egan of using was more powerful than the law allowed.

While the federal Food and Drug Administration regulates laser devices, it is easy to buy hand-held lasers that exceed “the legal limit of 5 milliwatts by a factor of a hundred or more,” Dr. Goldwasser said. He said the laser the police accused Mr. Egan of using was more powerful than the law allowed and was “definitely not a presentation pointer.”

“But there is a danger to aviation, even with low-powered lasers, which can result in distraction and temporary flash-blindness,” said Dr. Goldwasser, who writes the online guide Sam’s Laser F.A.Q. “It all depends on ‘How powerful is the laser? How far away is the aircraft?’ To what extent the person holding the laser can sustain contact with the cockpit.”

He added: “Unlike in ‘Star Wars,’ the beam does expand.”

In the case on Monday, officials said, the co-pilot of an Air Canada commercial airliner was taken to a hospital in Toronto and treated for injuries after being affected by the laser on takeoff from La Guardia, while the plane was at an altitude of 3,000 feet. The pilot of a Shuttle America flight reported suffering eye injuries after a laser splashed across his cockpit as he approached for landing at La Guardia at 1,200 feet altitude, the F.A.A. said.

And the two police helicopter pilots, Detective Richard Mardarello and Officer Royston Charles, were taken to the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai Hospital and treated for eye injuries before being released, the police said.

 

[🦈💜]

That's all I have time to dig up at the moment; you could also try and research some material yourself. I didn't realize that the FAA bulletin was anecdotal nor Cmdr. Daly's testimony.

The FAA citation you listed said nothing about permanent damage. The naval reference cited doesn't fit the profile of people lasing airplanes with laser pointers. Obviously serious laser is serious.

I have done research on these sorts of things before, which is why I'm skeptical of 'common commercially-available laser pointer' + airplane = permanent retinal damage. Not unwilling to believe, just skeptical in lieu of more specific information.

-Fox

 

[dustoff17]

Interesting read:
http://www.laserpointersafety.com/how2reduceincidents/pilots/pilots.html

 

[BobDDuck]

The FAA citation you listed said nothing about permanent damage. The naval reference cited doesn't fit the profile of people lasing airplanes with laser pointers. Obviously serious laser is serious.

I have done research on these sorts of things before, which is why I'm skeptical of 'common commercially-available laser pointer' + airplane = permanent retinal damage. Not unwilling to believe, just skeptical in lieu of more specific information.

-Fox

Well, you know... if you'd gone to college...


Joking aside, most green lasers (which are used in the bulk of the incidents) are 532nm on the light spectrum. Additionally, if they don't have the proper filters (and many of the cheap imports don't) there is a fair amount of IR light at much higher levels on the spectrum that leaks out as well. The problem is that while the eye tends to react (ie: blink) when exposed to visible light, it doesn't when exposed to IR, which can cause just as much, if not more, burn damage that the visible light.

The amount of damage that is done is related to the total power per unit area (which is basically the intensity). There is a formula (that is actually some what explainable on Quora) but the simplistic answer is that over a distance, the intensity is inversely proportional to the square root of the distance. Obviously things like air pollution and moisture, as well as imperfections in cockpit glass will reduce the intensity before it reaches a pilot's eye but also remember, that the eye is super effective at focusing light and can actually increase the intensity of a beam once it enters the eye.

LaserSafetyFacts.com has a pretty good chart that shows various power levels and their danger areas. A souped up astronomy laser at 250mW (which is 245mW higher than the safety limits in place in the US but attainable through ebay) has a Nominal Occular Hazard Distance of about 500 feet but a flash blindness distance of over 2000 feet.

As far as ocular burning which causes long term damage... it is possible if the beam was to somehow hit the eye at the exact right angle to be intensified in such a way that it burned the cornea. It would take a lot of bad luck to have that happen. However, short term flash blindness (which can last up to several hours) is a very realistic risk.

 

[Autothrust Blue]

I've no *permanent* damage, but I've been lased before; it was a very unpleasant experience that did, in fact, result in a level of temporary incapacitation.

(screw BFL)

 

[Tommay85]

Anyone ever try firing back?

In all seriousness, there's an apartment building in San Antonio PR that is notorious for lasers coming out of it. Most of pilot group(Ameriflight, Mountain Air, IFL, and Skyway) went down there one night with the intent of I don't know what(calling in the police was what I was thinking, but some wanted blood it seemed like). Not gonna lie, I wanted to and would still be willing to fracture most of my hand in beating someone to near death over this crap. Getting a lazer to the face all the way to touchdown is just. Friggen. Ridiculous. Laser hits, in PR at least, come from the scum of the earth. We didn't have enough leathermans to even come close to getting out of something nasty down there.

 

[Boris Badenov]

I'm sort of skeptical about the possible long-term effects, too. Or I mean more like I would be if there were any excuse for the behavior in the first place, and there weren't a very real immediate danger to everyone on the aircraft. As it stands, I find the question of whether there are long-term dangers to the pilots' vision irrelevant, or at the very most tertiary. Screw these swine. Put em in the cells that used to contain peaceful hippies who got caught smoking the ganja. And leave them there for a while.

PS. I do feel compelled to add, though, that "laser ATTACKS" (emphasis mine, obviously) seems maybe just a bit overwrought.

PPS. Great info, Bob. I knew all that photography nerdery would come in handy sooner or later.

 

[Skåning]

Damn cats shooting lasers out of their eyes!

 

[Tommay85]

Damn cats shooting lasers out of their eyes!

What's worse is when they just sit there looking at you, half charged!

 

[mshunter]

So how long before they limit the power/color of laser pointers in the US? Blood spilled first? Red lasers aren't that big of a deal. Green ones are pretty dangerous though. I have a friend who builds them, and sells them to other countries militaries. They were specific in asking for green ones because of the damage they cause to eyes.

 

[mastermags]

So how long before they limit the power/color of laser pointers in the US? Blood spilled first? Red lasers aren't that big of a deal. Green ones are pretty dangerous though. I have a friend who builds them, and sells them to other countries militaries. They were specific in asking for green ones because of the damage they cause to eyes.

If you outlaw lasers, only outlaws will have lasers!!