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FBI.gov
Protecting
Aircraft from Lasers
New
Program Offers Rewards for Information
02/11/14
Today
the FBI announced a program aimed at deterring people from pointing
lasers at aircraft—a felony punishable by five years in jail—and
rewarding those who come forward with information about individuals
who engage in this dangerous activity.
“Aiming
a laser pointer at an aircraft is a serious matter and a violation of
federal law,” said Ron Hosko, assistant director of the FBI’s
Criminal Investigative Division. “It is important that people
understand that this is a criminal act with potentially deadly
repercussions.”
The
new initiative—which includes a campaign to educate the public
about the dangers of “lasing”—will run for 60 days in 12 FBI
field offices where laser strikes against aircraft are prevalent. A
key part of the program is reward money: The Bureau will offer up to
$10,000 for information leading to the arrest of any individual who
intentionally aims a laser at an aircraft.
“Laser
pointers are legal and certainly have legitimate uses,” said George
Johnson, a federal air marshal who serves as a liaison officer with
the Bureau on laser issues. “Used in the wrong environment,
however, they can be very dangerous.”
When
aimed at an aircraft from the ground, the powerful beam of light from
a handheld laser can travel more than a mile and illuminate a
cockpit, disorienting and temporarily blinding pilots. Those who have
been subject to such attacks have described them as the equivalent of
a camera flash going off in a pitch black car at night.
Since
the FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began tracking
laser strikes in 2005, there has been a more than 1,000 percent
increase in the number of incidents with these devices, which can be
purchased in stores or online for as little as a few dollars. Last
year, 3,960 laser strikes against aircraft were reported—an average
of almost 11 incidents per day. And it’s estimated that thousands
of attacks go unreported every year.
“We
hope that more public awareness about this issue will lower the
instances of laser strikes,” Johnson said. “We also want to
encourage people to come forward when they see someone committing
this felony—one that could have terrible consequences for pilots
and their passengers.” As of December 2013, the FAA has documented
at least 35 incidents where pilots required medical attention after a
laser strike.
Interfering
with the operation of an aircraft has long been a federal crime, but
the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 specifically made it a
federal felony to knowingly point the beam of a laser at an aircraft.
The new law lowered the threshold for prosecution, Johnson said, “and
the trend is on the rise for jail time in these cases.” Last month,
for example, a 23-year-old California man was sentenced to 21 months
in prison for aiming a laser pointer at a Fresno County Sheriff’s
Office helicopter. Court records showed that the man deliberately
tracked and struck the aircraft.
The
12 FBI offices participating in the new program are Albuquerque,
Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City,
Philadelphia, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Juan, and the
Washington Field Office.
If
you have information about a lasing incident or see someone pointing
a laser at an aircraft, call your local FBI office or dial 911.
See
the video at FBI.gov
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