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Scotland: Police fail to arrest man who lased RAF helicopter during search operation

Police failed to charge a man who aimed a green laser at an RAF Search and Rescue helicopter in Cowdenbeath, Scotland on November 4 2011. The Sea King was searching for a missing man when the cockpit was illuminated. The pilot reported the location and ground units were sent. Police found the perpetrator, but did not arrest him. The man claimed he had not been aiming at the helicopter but instead was playing with it in his garden.

Local officials were upset. A Fife councillor said “It’s disturbing. Some action should have been taken against the individual and I will be making enquiries…” The local member of Scottish Parliament said she found it “absolutely astounding” that the man was not charged with a serious offense.

From
Deadline News
.

UK: 4 months for steady aiming at RAF Tornado jet

An RAF Tornado fighter jet was illuminated by a beam “focused on the jet cockpit for up to ten seconds”, on 16 August 2010, at RAF Leuchars airbase (near St. Andrews, Scotland). One month later, 28-year-old Romanian migrant worker Radu Moldovan pleaded guilty to culpably and recklessly endangering a military aircraft. He received a four-month sentence.

radu-moldovan
Four month sentence for Radu Moldovan

His lawyer said that Moldovan “wanted to see how powerful” the £4 green laser pen was. The laser beam was aimed at or near the aircraft multiple times. The local sheriff said “The consequences of a Tornado crashing at RAF Leuchars raises the most horrific possibilities of death and injury to the pilot, navigator and anyone passing underneath.”

From
BBC News

Scotland: £4000 (US $6500) fine for flashing laser at rescue helicopter

A 22-year-old was fined £4000 (US $6500, Euro 4500) for flashing a green laser beam at pilots in a rescue helicopter. On Nov. 1 2008, an RAF Sea King helicopter was carrying a teenager injured in a climbing accident. Rosen Romanov dazzled the pilots who were at an altitude of 1000 feet over homes in Caol, Fort William, in Scotland.

The pilots felt that it was only their night-vision goggles, which reduced the glare, that saved them from a “tragic crash”. Romanov was found guilty of culpable and reckless conduct and was fined the record amount.

From the Daily Record. Click the “Rescue” tag in the left hand column to find similar stories of disrupted rescue operations in the UK and elsewhere.

UPDATE: In late August 2009, Romanov’s lawyers appealed, saying “the fine was maybe suitable for the offense, but not enough consideration has been given to his financial circumstances.” A hearing was scheduled for September 10. From the Press and Journal.