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Canada: Teen points laser sight on pellet gun at police helicopter

A teenager was arrested after aiming the green beam from a pellet gun’s laser sight at an Air2 police helicopter in Vaughn, Canada, a town just north of Toronto, on August 16 2016.

An infrared camera onboard the aircraft helped the crew locate the source of the laser beam. Ground officers found the pellet gun, which 19-year-old Nicholas Caranci had thrown to the ground as he ran away. The IR camera helped the helicopter crew direct officers to the teen’s location.

Caranci laser Air2
In an attempt to escape arrest, Nicholas Carianci ran from the court at right and hopped over a fence, after throwing his pellet gun with a laser sight into weeds (green circle). Thanks to the helicopter IR surveillance camera, police were able to pick up both the teen and the pellet gun.


Caranci was arrested and charged with mischief endangering life, unlawfully engaging in behavior that endangers an aircraft, and projecting a bright light source into navigable airspace.

From the Mirror

Canada: UPDATED - Pilots suffer itching, irritation from laser strike while landing in Ottawa

Two WestJet Boeing 737 pilots suffered “minor itching and irritation” after they were illuminated by a green laser beam while landing at an Ottawa’s Macdonald Cartier International airport.

The incident occurred September 23 2014. The laser was pointed at the plane for around 2-4 minutes. Police are looking for the perpetrator.

Earlier in the month, on September 5, a Porter Airlines flight from Toronto was flashed with a green laser as it approached the Ottawa runway, according to CBC News.

A WestJet spokesperson said the pilots were cleared to fly and there was no permanent damage: “... there are real health repercussions for being exposed to a laser beam, so we do have a protocol in place where they will get checked out and there is also follow-ups.”
Click to read more...

Canada: Man arrested for aiming laser at police helicopter in Richmond Hill; pilot seeks treatment

An unidentified man was arrested after an Air 2 police helicopter pilot reported being temporarily blinded by a laser beam at about 11:30 pm on August 24 2014, while flying over Richmond Hill, in the Toronto metropolitan area.

The pilot was able to identify the source location of the laser. He then landed and sought medical treatment.

Ground officers stopped a vehicle and arrested the man.

From CTV News Toronto

Canada: Oshawa man facing charges (for daytime lasing?) of helicopter

A 44-year-old Oshawa man was charged with assault with a weapon, mischief endangering life, common nuisance and obstructing police after a June 14 2013 incident. The Durham Regional Police Service helicopter Air-1 was hit by a laser beam several times while patrolling above Oshawa.

Unusually, the laser illumination was said to have taken place at noon, according toThe Star.

Crew on the helicopter directed ground officers to a parking lot where Richard McIntosh was arrested. His green Class IIIB laser was seized by police.

From The Star and 680 News

Commentary from LaserPointerSafety.com: Although The Star stated the incident took place at noon, this could be a misreading of the time on the police report. We have seen other stories where one news outlet said an incident occurred during daytime while others reported (correctly) that the time was, for example, 12:45 AM and not 12:45 PM.

Canada: UPDATED - Police helicopter forced to land after repeated Class 3A laser attacks

A Durham Regional Police helicopter was forced to land after being repeatedly illuminated by a laser, later determined to be Class 3A (maximum power less than 5 milliwatts). The maximum power allowed to be sold as a pointer in Canada is Class 3A.

The April 21 2012 incident happened in Uxbridge, 75 km northeast of Toronto. It was looking for vandals when struck by a laser numerous times over several minutes. The helicopter set down at a nearby police station, and the pilot was taken to a hospital. He was released with no apparent damage, but a police spokesperson said it could take several days for damage to emerge.

20-year-old Melissa Perry of Uxbridge was arrested, and charged with lessening the ability of a crew member to perform duties, interfering with the duties of a crew member, projecting a bright light at an aircraft, mischief endangering life, assault with a weapon and common nuisance. It is unclear from news reports whether Perry was associated with the vandals.

From DurhamRegion.com, Global Toronto and Canada.com

Analysis from LaserPointerSafety.com: If the laser is really Class 3A (less than 5 mW maximum power), the pilot’s eyes were unharmed. The Nominal Ocular Hazard Distance for a 5 mW laser with a tight 1 milliradian beam is 52 feet. This means that laser safety experts have concluded that no eye injury could occur past 52 feet. If the pilot was airborne, his eyes were likely much farther than 52 feet from the laser. (Global Toronto reported the helicopter was at 5000 feet, but that is very high for vandal surveillance; 500 feet is more reasonable.)
Plus, as explained on the Laser Safety Calculations page, there are additional factors that go into the NOHD. The result of these factors is that a 5 mW laser would have to be within 16.4 feet of a person’s eyes before there was a 50/50 chance of causing a minimally detectable eye injury. This is not opinion; this is scientific fact based on how the NOHD is derived.

UPDATE, NOVEMBER 2012: On September 21 2012, Perry pleaded guilty to one charge of violating the Aviation Act by shining a bright light at an aircraft. She was fined $500. All other charges were dropped by the Crown. From DurhamRegion.com.

Canada: Family turns in child for aiming laser pointer at helicopter

A family in Severn Township, Ontario, admitted that they were responsible for an October 7 2011 incident when an Ontario Provincial Police helicopter was twice struck by a green laser beam. A crew member saw the beam in the sky and warned the pilot before the laser directly illuminated the cockpit. The pilot looked away and did not experience flash blindness.

The family came forward after police asked for the public’s assistance in finding the source of the beam. The family said they had just bought the laser pointer, and one of the younger children was pointing it into the sky. The said there was no intent to cause a problem and they now know better.

Because there was no criminal intent, no charges were brought.

From the Barrie Examiner. The paper also carried an earlier article describing the incident and how police were looking for the laser source.

Canada: Five "hits" on Toronto approach

An Air Canada Airbus 320, was hit by five laser flashes as it approached Toronto Pearson International Airport. "Zero Five Zero, this is Air Canada Seven Five Four -- We've just taken two green laser hits," the pilot said, according to a recording made of an exchange between the aircraft and air traffic controllers.

CTV Toronto reported that "[t]his is estimated to be the sixth such incident in Toronto in the past year. About a dozen have occurred in Ontario, and more than 30 across Canada."

More details from
CTV.ca