UK: Police "fight back" by tracking laser hits
1: Police helicopter is targeted by laser pointer on the ground. 2: Helicopter crew use Laser Event Recorder to locate pointer via GPS, and record its wavelength. 3: GPS details enable helicopter’s thermal (infrared) camera to find suspect, and send police patrol on the ground to arrest the person.
In addition, the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority is planning new laws prohibiting shining a laser at an aircraft. Currently, prosecutors have to prove that the laser user “recklessly or negligently endangered an aircraft”.”
BBC quotes Bob Jones, head of flight operations at the CAA: “"To those individuals targeting aircraft with laser devices the message is clear -- don't. You will be caught and you will be prosecuted and you could spend up to five years in prison. These things are not toys, they pose a serious risk to all flight safety."
Many more details, including photos and a video of a helicopter finding a laser perpetrator, are at the BBC News website.
US: Man arrested for flashing patrol plane
"In our environment at night where there's little light, if we're temporarily blinded, we may lose our ability to see the ground, see the instruments,” said Trooper Jonathan Aames.
The troopers on board the airplane are usually looking for speeders or drunk drivers, but last Saturday night, they used their infrared cameras to find Tony Rhodes, the person 2,000 feet below who was flashing their plane with the green laser pointer. Read More...