more strange things with airplanes

gryp ↓

Thu, Dec 30 2004, 6:40 am

Yahoo news
Thursday December 30
FBI Probes Laser Beam Directed at Cockpit

Authorities are investigating a mysterious laser beam that was directed into the cockpit of a commercial jet traveling at more than 8,500 feet.

The beam appeared Monday when the plane was about 15 miles from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, the FBI said.

"It was in there for several seconds like (the plane) was being tracked," FBI agent Robert Hawk said.

The pilot was able to land the plane, and air traffic controllers used radar to determine the laser came from a residential area in suburban Warrensville Heights.

Hawk said the laser had to have been fairly sophisticated to track a plane traveling at that altitude. Authorities had no other leads, and are investigating whether the incident was a prank or if there was a more sinister motive.

In Colorado Springs, Colo., Monday night, two pilots reported green pulsating laser lights shined into their cockpits. Both the passenger plane and a cargo plane landed without problems.

Police dispatched patrol cars and a helicopter to a neighborhood to investigate but found nothing. FBI agents were continuing to conduct interviews, agency spokeswoman Monique Kelso said.

Federal officials have expressed concern about terrorists using laser beams, which can distract or temporarily blind a pilot.

A memo sent to law enforcement agencies recently by the FBI and the Homeland Security Department says there is evidence that terrorists have explored using lasers as weapons. Authorities said there is no specific intelligence indicating al-Qaida or other groups might use lasers in the United States.

In September a pilot for Delta Air Lines reported an eye injury from a laser beam shone into the cockpit during a landing approach in Salt Lake City. The incident occurred about 5 miles from the airport. The plane landed safely.

Lasers are commonly used in a number of industries and are featured in outdoor light shows.

The FAA mandates that laser light shows must register their locations and the lights cannot be directed above 3,000 feet. Lasers are also often used by construction companies to line up foundations.

Interfering with a commercial flight is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

↑ gryp ↓

Fri, Dec 31 2004, 10:57 am

Update:
FBI probes laser beams:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Pilots from time to time encounter laser beams that stray into the cockpit on approach to an airport, but a recent rash of such incidents - at least seven since x-mas - has them worried about an organized effort to take down airliners.

Though there have been no reports of accidents caused by lasers, they can temporarily blind and disorient a pilot and could lead to a plane crash.

The FBI is investigating whether the incidents are pranks, accidents or something more sinister.

Federal agents are looking into two incidents in Colorado Springs, Colo., and one each in Cleveland, Washington, Houston, Teterboro, N.J., and Medford, Ore., according to law enforcement and transportation officials, some of whom spoke Thursday only on condition of anonymity.

Scientists discount the possibility that pilots are merely the victims of a popular new x-mas toy or jokesters toying with a $19 laser pointer from an electronics store.

Loren Thompson, who teaches military technology at Georgetown University, said a piece of equipment that could do the things the FBI is investigating would be "fairly expensive and fairly sophisticated."

He characterized it as a reasonably powerful visible light laser that can lock onto a fast-moving aircraft. "That's not the sort of thing you pick up at a military surplus store," he said.

Law enforcement officials say they have no evidence of an organized effort to take down planes. Further, they say they've had reports of similar incidents since the technology became popular.

But a memo sent to law enforcement agencies recently by the FBI and the Homeland Security Department says there is evidence that terrorists have explored using lasers as weapons, though there's no intelligence that indicates they might use them in the United States.

Pilots and safety officials have long been concerned about the dangers of lasers used in light shows or to attract the public to an event.

Hundreds of cases of lasers shining into pilots' eyes have been reported over the past decade; in several, the pilots sustained damage to their eyes.

Most recently, a pilot for Delta Air Lines reported an eye injury from a laser beamed into the cockpit while approaching the Salt Lake City airport in September. The plane landed safely.

The Food and Drug Administration, which regulates laser light shows, consults with the Federal Aviation Administration when someone wants to operate a laser outdoors near an airport. The FAA recommends the maximum safe level of laser light exposure for pilots maneuvering near airports.

An FAA-commissioned study released in June acknowledged the possibility that terrorists could use a laser to attack an aircraft - and that it would be hard to detect and to defend against.

"A sufficiently powerful laser could cause permanent ocular damage, blinding crewmembers and make a successful landing virtually impossible," the report said.

Rob Sproc, a pilot who serves as vice president of the Airline Pilots Security Alliance, says pilots should have heard about the recent laser incidents from the government, not from the news media. Whether they're a safety hazard or terrorist threat, he said, "we're a little distressed that the information isn't being passed along the way it should be."

"If it takes you down, it's kind of irrelevant what the source is," Sproc said.

On x-mas night, two SkyWest pilots said they saw two laser-like rays of light in their cockpit as they attempted to land at the airport in Medford, Ore., according to FBI spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele.

On Monday, a laser beam was directed into the cockpit of a commercial jet flying about 15 miles from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport at an altitude of between 8,500 feet and 10,000 feet, FBI special agent Robert Hawk said. It was determined the laser came from a residential area in suburban Warrensville Heights.

Also on Monday in Colorado Springs, two pilots reported green pulsating laser lights beamed into their cockpits. Police sent patrol cars and a helicopter in a fruitless search. FBI spokeswoman Monique Kelso said the bureau is continuing to investigate.

In New Jersey, the pilot of a corporate-owned Cessna Citation carrying 13 people said three green lasers were pointed into his cockpit while approaching the Teterboro airport on Wednesday night. Law enforcement officials said they were believed to have originated near a mall in Wayne, according to Passaic County Sheriff's Office spokesman Bill Maer.

All the planes landed safely.

↑ gryp ↓

Sat, Jan 01 2005, 3:39 pm

update: Person questioned about lasers

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - A laser beam was aimed at a police helicopter Friday - one of several incidents involving aircraft across the country in the past week - and federal authorities were questioning someone who had been at a house where they said the light had originated.

Officials said no one was hurt when the laser hit the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police helicopter as it flew over an area where a similar incident occurred Wednesday.

Soon after, Port Authority officials and the FBI went to a Parsippany home where they had tracked the laser beam and were questioning a person there in connection with both incidents, said Steve Coleman, an authority spokesman.

No charges had been filed as of late Friday night, Coleman said.

Police in the helicopter were trying to pinpoint the spot where three green lasers were pointed at a pilot preparing to land a plane at Teterboro Airport on Wednesday night. The force's superintendent and some detectives were in the helicopter at the time, Coleman said.

The plane involved in Wednesday's incident, a corporate-owned Cessna Citation with 13 people aboard, was about 11 miles from the airport when the incident occurred, authorities said. It landed safely and no injuries were reported.

Federal agents are looking into several recent incidents involving lasers and aircraft, including cases in Cleveland, Washington, Houston, Colorado Springs, Colo., and Medford, Ore. In some cases the lasers locked onto aircraft several thousand feet up as they approached airports for landing.

Though there have been no reports of accidents caused by lasers, they can temporarily blind and disorient a pilot and could lead to a plane crash. The FBI is investigating whether the incidents are pranks, accidents or something more sinister.