6 Cockpit Laser Exposures in 4 days

[Cardinal]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/12/29/laser.plane/index.html

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Six commercial airliners in the past four days have had their cockpits illuminated by laser beams while attempting to land, a government official told CNN Wednesday.
The incidents have happened "all over the place" and in "kind of odd places," the official said without elaborating.

None of the flights was affected.

The government official, who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity, said it was unclear whether this week's incidents were the result of "kids who got a laser light for Christmas" or whether there is "some deliberate attempt to target aircraft."

The cockpit of a Continental Airlines 737 was illuminated by a laser Monday as it approached Cleveland, authorities said.

FBI spokesman Bob Hawk said the light, which shined into the cockpit at around 8 p.m., came from a suburb about 15 miles from the airport.

The FBI said no harm was done and the light did not affect the plane's landing.

6 in 4 days? That strikes me as improbable.

And on a heartwarming note, meet the Chinese-made ZM-87 Laser Blinder that has been shown off at military exhibitions in Manila and Abu Dhabi: http://www.asianpacificpost.com/news/file/503.jpg

 

[Styles]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/12/29/laser.plane/index.html
6 in 4 days? That strikes me as improbable.

And on a heartwarming note, meet the Chinese-made ZM-87 Laser Blinder that has been shown off at military exhibitions in Manila and Abu Dhabi: http://www.asianpacificpost.com/news/file/503.jpg

see my post here http://forums.flightinfo.com/showthread.php?t=45281

last one

 

[EagleRJ]

The fact that several incidents were nearly simultaneous, plus the fact that they were green lasers- is suspicious.

The aircraft were illuminated for several seconds, indicating that someone was purposely tracking them. The lasers were probably larger commercial models, instead of laser pointers, too. Green laser pointers are just now becoming available, but their beams spread out too much over a large distance, and they're not very powerful.

Combine this with the gov warning about lasers in early December, and with the holiday season, and I'd say we have a failed attack here. Hopefully we were able to bust some jihadis through their sales receipts!

 

[Styles]

.... and they're not very powerful.

Ummmmmm I can pick up a 7W (not 7mw) for less than $3K in other words you go blind quicker than I can snap my fingers. green laser wave length is 532nm BTW the color the human eye sees the best!

P.S. Blue is th color that is not power full enough it is up to 3mw now.

.

 

[FN FAL]

Ummmmmm I can pick up a 7W (not 7mw) for less than $3K in other words you go blind quicker than I can snap my fingers. green laser wave length is 532nm BTW the color the human eye sees the best!

P.S. Blue is th color that is not power full enough on up to 3mw

.

Maybe this situation requires that automation should be in place in case the pilots become incapacitated?

 

[Styles]

Ummmmmm I can pick up a 7W (not 7mw) for less than $3K in other words you go blind quicker than I can snap my fingers. green laser wave length is 532nm BTW the color the human eye sees the best!

P.S. Blue is th color that is not power full enough it is up to 3mw now.

.

I did forget to mention that anything above 100mw (brite as helI) is considered a calss IIIb laser and not legal to operate in public.

and autoland systems scare the $%&*@# out of me even though they are cool....

 

[I.P. Freley]

6 in 4 days? That strikes me as improbable.

........or so the Germans would have us believe....

 

[GravityHater]

Lets predict the FAA reaction if this continues...
"...investigating the possibility of adding a 'laser barrier' to windscreens..."
"All pt 121 ops will, at all times during an approach, have one pilot wearing hooded eyewear and this pilot will focus his scan inside the cockpit only until arriving at minimums...."

If you're talking about targetting for a missile using a laser, well forget it.

 

[EagleRJ]

Ummmmmm I can pick up a 7W (not 7mw) for less than $3K in other words you go blind quicker than I can snap my fingers. green laser wave length is 532nm BTW the color the human eye sees the best!

P.S. Blue is th color that is not power full enough it is up to 3mw now.

I was talking about green laser pointers- the ones the size of pens.


Laser technology is sure growing by leaps and bounds! I've read from several sources that the military hopes to have energy weapons on fighter-sized aircraft by 2015- not for blinding enemy pilots- for destroying enemy aircraft!

 

[labbats]

I was talking about green laser pointers- the ones the size of pens.


Laser technology is sure growing by leaps and bounds! I've read from several sources that the military hopes to have energy weapons on fighter-sized aircraft by 2015- not for blinding enemy pilots- for destroying DEATHSTARS!

Fixed