skip to main |
skip to sidebar
From the
Queens Courier:
The FBI is seeking help to identify the perpetrator behind a laser attack, which caused flash blindness and disrupted the vision of a Delta Air Lines pilot on Tuesday.
As the plane was approaching LaGuardia Airport to land just before 8 p.m., a green beam that came from Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst entered the cockpit twice, the FBI said.
The injured pilot continued to experience pain in his right eye for a while after the attacks.
“Laser incidents are often viewed as harmless. This couldn’t be further from the truth,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos said. “Our paramount concern is the safety of aircraft passengers, and we are asking anyone who knows anything to contact us.”
From
WPIX:
The FBI is calling this a very serious and dangerous situation. Lasers can temporarily or permanently blind a pilot and crew.
There is a danger in the air, and it’s hurting the crews piloting airplanes at New York-area airports.
According to the FBI, the number of laser incidents targeting airplanes and pilots are increasing in New York City. In fact they’re up 17 percent since last year.
Law enforcement officials said the two most recent incidents happened on October 15, 2013. The first, at 7:35 p.m., involving Shuttle America flight 5973. In that instance, the FBI said, the aircraft cockpit was illuminated by a green laser on the final approach to La Guardia Airport.
The incident occurred approximately six miles from the runway, at 2,000 feet. The crew reported that the laser beam originated about a half mile west of the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx.
The second incident occurred at 10:37 p.m. that same night. A private aircraft reported a green laser two miles southwest of La Guardia Airport while heading eastbound over the Triborough Bridge. The laser originated near the intersection of Broadway and Steinway Street in Queens.
No injuries were reported in either of those recent incidents at LGA, but several commercial pilots earlier this year suffered significant injury including a burnt retina.
From the
Huffington Post:
The Federal Aviation Administration is urging witnesses to contact police after someone aimed a green laser at six airliners as they landed at LaGuardia airport over the weekend.
Lasers can blind or distract pilots. The laser came from a point about five miles southwest of the airport, hitting the planes as they were passing over Queens or Brooklyn.
On Friday night, it hit commuter jets operated by Continental, U.S. Airways, American Eagle and Transtates Airlines, which operates shuttle flights for both United and U.S. Airways. Pilots reported the strikes between 6:06 p.m. and 7:56 p.m.
On Saturday, the laser hit a Continental commuter jet and a United Airlines Boeing 757, both around 7 p.m. The planes were between 1,600 and 2,500 feet above New York at the time.
All of the airliners landed safely, FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac said.
The FAA is asking anyone with information about the laser to contact police or send an email to LaserReports(at)faa.gov.
