Saturday, March 8, 2008

Pilots complain of "laser" attacks


dl7_laser_title.gif


At least 33 pilots in Canada, including some flying large commercial airliners, have complained about being flashed in the eyes by bright lights that could be lasers, officials said on Thursday. Canada's transport ministry said it is probing the complaints, which started in 2005, and had handed most of them over to the police.

"All we know is that a bright light was shone into the cockpit. We don't know if it is in fact a laser and that's why when these reports happen, an investigation is started," said ministry spokeswoman Kirsten Goodnough.

"It is a serious concern because anything that distracts the pilot and affects the safe operation of the aircraft is a problem for us," she said.

None of the pilots involved had suffered any eye damage, she added. - reuters

I wrote to David Ljunggren to ask about a detail that is missing from this story. Did the pilots think the light was coming from inside or outside? Answer:

Outside the aircraft. The details of each case were 
handed over to the individual local police force and I
didn't have time to chase them down.

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