A comprehensive resource for safe and responsible laser use

US: Crew member seeks medical help after laser aimed at Customs helicopter

A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Blackhawk helicopter was illuminated with laser light on March 24 2021 near Bellingham, Washington. One of the two CBP agents onboard sought medical attention for an unspecified eye injury or issue.

The helicopter had been doing training approaches to Bellingham International Airport when the cockpit was illuminated. Deputies on the ground located 34-year-old Ronald Gregory Boettcher. He said he did not have a laser and did not aim a laser at an aircraft. Deputies found he did have a laser pointer. He was arrested on suspicion of unlawful discharge of a laser.

The CBP agent's medical condition and prognosis was not available.

From The Columbian and TickleTheWire.com

US: Washington State man aims new laser at helicopter to see how far it would go

A Ferndale, Washington man with a newly purchased laser was located after he aimed it at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter on September 10 2019.

He told officers that he aimed the green laser light at the aircraft to see how far it would reach. He said he did not know how serious a hazard the laser was to aircraft.

Officers confiscated the laser, which had been purchased online. A photo shows it to be a "Laser 303" which is a certain type of handheld laser form factor.


Photo by the Ferndale Police Department


Police forwarded the case for consideration of federal charges. The man was not identified.

From the Bellingham Herald and My Ferndale News

US: Did not think laser could reach, says Washington state man arrested for aiming at sheriff's helicopter

A Spokane County (Washington) Sheriff's helicopter was illuminated twice by a laser on February 20 2019. Ground officers going to the laser location found Janson McElfish at the door, with a silver pen-type laser in his hand.

McElfish, whose age was reported as 41 or 42, told deputies he had deliberately aimed at the helicopter, thinking the beam would not reach the aircraft.

He was arrested and charged with first degree unlawful discharge of a laser, which is a felony.

From KREM.com

US: Man shines laser near Sea-Tac Airport and at police helicopter: "Didn't think it was a big deal"

A 29-year-old man was arrested for aiming a laser at aircraft landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and at a King’s County sheriff’s helicopter.

On March 13 2018, the Sea-Tac control tower notified the helicopter, Guardian 1, that a laser was being aimed at inbound aircraft. The approximate location was the Burien Transit Center bus station. The helicopter was able to locate a man, who pointed a green laser beam at the aircraft. Officers on the ground arrested the man, who was not named in press reports.

According to the arresting officers, the man said he was showing his friend a new laser, and the man was “accidentally” aiming near the airport. The man also said he deliberately aimed the laser at the helicopter but “didn’t think it was a big deal.”

The laser caused a brief interruption of SeaTac Airport flight duties and prevented pilots from looking outside the aircraft.

From the Sky Valley Chronicle, KIRO, and Q13FOX.

US: Wash state man aims laser at helicopter then at arresting officers

A 32-year-old man aimed a “multicolored LED laser light” at a Spokane (Wash.) County Sheriff’s Office helicopter on September 17 2016. The crew notified deputies on the ground of the laser’s location.

When deputies arrived, they told Brandon J. Neeser to show his hands. Neeser pointed the laser device at the deputies. They saw it was not connected to a gun so they did not take defensive action. The deputies arrested Neeser, who told them he did not know it was illegal and he “thought it would be funny” to aim at the helicopter because they were aiming a light at him.

Neeser faces two felony counts of unlawful discharge of a laser.

From MyFoxSpokane and KREM

US: Tacoma-area man arrested for aiming at police plane

Aaron Huffman, 27, was arrested on a charge of first-degree unlawful discharge of a laser, after he allegedly aimed the laser at a Washington State Patrol plane on August 31 2014. The charge is a felony with a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

The aircraft was on patrol at 2:35 am, at about 1700 to 2000 feet altitude, looking for impaired drivers, when it was illuminated by a laser beam. The pilot was able to use infrared imaging to see Huffman, standing outside of a mobile home. Officers on the ground said Huffman initially denied having a laser pointer, then he suggested the pilots mistook it for a flashlight. He said he was not aware the plane was a State Patrol aircraft.

Huffman lives with his grandparents. His grandfather told Q13 Fox News that Aaron was ““playing with a toy flashlight and that’s exactly what it was — it was a toy flashlight. Just one with, what do you call it, a laser beam? Well, now I can understand it since 9/11, but I’m 60 years old, I can understand it. I think ahead. He’s 20 something years old. He don’t think ahead.”

In the comments section of a News Tribute story about Huffman’s arrest, a commenter named Heather Huffman wrote “He has not done this before the laser wasn’t even $7 to buy had no warning label and he didn’t even know it would reach that far.”
Click to read more...

US: Spokane County searches called off due to laser interference

Searches by the “Air One” helicopter in Spokane County, Washington, are being called off due to laser pointer interference. In July 2012, the helicopter was targeted five times. Other local air crews with MedStar and Fairchild Air Force Base have had trouble as well. Authorities are asking the public for help in stopping the laser strikes.

From KREM

US: DOD confirms eye injury to copter passenger; perhaps from Russian vessel Kapitan Man?

On April 4 1997, an American naval officer onboard a Canadian military helicopter suffered eye pain and injuries that “would be expected from exposure to a low level laser, such as a laser range-finder”. The pain came after a patrol photographing merchant vessels in the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Seattle, including the Russian ship M/V Kapitan Man.

Coast Guard and Navy personnel boarded the vessel on April 7 but were unable to find any laser device, or evidence of a possible device. U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jack Daly was then examined by military laser eye injury experts, who found “there was a high probability that the minor burns on the lieutenant's right retina were caused by multiple laser exposures such as might result from a single glimpse at a repetitive pulsed laser.”

1997-KapitanMan
The American naval officer took this photo in the Strait of Juan de Fuca showing a red light on the M/V Kapitan Man. The light led some to suspect a laser. However, subsequent inspection did not find a laser, and in the location of the red light were “two deep red running lights … that met the guidelines established for sidelights.”


The U.S. Defense Department concluded that “[a]vailable evidence does not indicate…what the source of such an exposure might have been. Specifically, there is no physical evidence tying the eye injury of the American officer to a laser located on the Russian merchant vessel.”

The Strait of Juan de Fuca laser incident was also discussed in the August 2004 medical journal Archives of Ophthalmology. The article “Assessment of Alleged Retinal Laser Injuries” describes “Case 5” and concludes that “…[n]o evidence of laser injury was found in the years after the incident by 17 other ophthalmologists, including 5 neuro-ophthalmalogists and 8 retina specialists. A trial was held 5 years after the incident in which the retina specialist who made the initial diagnosis steadfastly maintained all the photographer’s [naval officer’s] symptoms were due to retinal laser injury. A jury ruled against the photographer’s claim for damages against the ship’s owner.… The patient had real complaints, but they were caused by preexisting autoimmune problems rather than by laser injury.”

The full text of the DOD press release, and the “Case 5” study is below (click the “Read More…” link). Additional information above is from a 2011 Washington Times story.

Click to read more...

US: Jurors find spotlight misuser guilty on one charge, not guilty on another

Jurors deliberated for a day in a case where a man aimed a spotlight at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter on September 22 2010. The pilots, who were wearing night-vision goggles, were temporarily blinded by the spotlight. The co-pilot had to remove his goggles and direct the pilot, who was not able to remove his goggles while still piloting the aircraft.

On April 28 2011 the jury found Wayne P. Groen, 42, guilty of incapacitation of an individual during authorized operation of an aircraft. The jury found him not guilty of interfering with the authorized operation of an aircraft. Sentencing was set for August 4 2011.

Groen lives near Lynden, Washington about 1/2 mile south of the U.S.-Canada border. According to the Seattle Times, Groen said he aimed the spotlight at the Border Protection helicopter because he was “curious” about their activities, bothered by the noise, and “wanted to alert the pilots as to how close they were to his home.”


Groen lives on H Street Road, which parallels the U.S.-Canada border

The Bellingham Herald reports that some of Groen’s neighbors have been annoyed by Border Protection activities, such as frequent low-level helicopter flights and vehicles traveling through their yards and fields. They “have been tempted” to spotlight helicopters, and felt that threat of a long prison term (up to 40 years) for Groen was excessive. One man quoted by the paper said he was in an old barn at night when a helicopter hovered overhead and the metal roof began to rattle and shake: “Had I had a good flashlight I would have shined it up at that black object to see what it was.”

From the Seattle Times and the Bellingham Herald. An account of the opening day of the trial, entitled “Light v. helicopter -- who felt threatened most?” can be read after registering at the Lynden Tribune; a cached version is available at Google.

UPDATE August 4 2011: Wayne Groen was sentenced to two months in prison, 90 days of home detention, 120 hours of community service, three years of community supervision, and a $5,000 fine for incapacitating an individual during the authorized operation of an aircraft. Groen could have received up to 20 years in prison. The prosecution recommended 10 months; the defense wanted no prison time, one year of probation, 120 hours of community service and a $5,000 fine. From The News Tribune

US: NFL team Seattle Seahawks plane hit by laser

A chartered airplane carrying the Seattle Seahawks football team was illuminated with a laser while landing at Sea-Tac Airport on January 16 2011. The team was returning from a playoff loss to the Chicago Bears earlier that day.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane was about 2 miles from the runway when it was hit. The incident was reported to local police.

As of January 19, no suspect has been identified.

From SB Nation and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

US: 12 planes report a laser in Seattle. UPDATE: Arrest made

Pilots on 12 jetliners landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Sunday, Feb. 22 2009, reported that someone was shining a green laser light into their cockpits.

All the planes were targeted during a 20-minute period Sunday night, and all landed safely. But the incident led to pilots simultaneously trying to avoid being temporarily blinded by the light while trying to help authorities pinpoint its source, believed to be about a mile north of the airport.

Air traffic controllers continuously cautioned pilots about the light during the episode, which lasted from 7:10 to 7:30 p.m. PT.

A pilot reported the source to be a block and a half west of an interstate. Airport authorities said they conducted two searches of the area but did not find the culprit.

Officials note that it is a federal crime to point a laser light at an aircraft, and pilots are required to report encounters with laser lights. Officials fear that the lights could cause an accident by blinding pilots or otherwise affecting their night vision.

The FBI has “made it a priority” to investigate laser incidents, according to CNN reporter Jeanne Meserve.. MSNBC reports that the Transportation Safety Administration is also involved in the investigation.

Additional details from CNN and MSNBC. A CNN video of the news story “Lasers aimed at planes”, reported by Jeanne Meserve, is also available from CNN’s website. The video adds information on the FBI which is not in the website print version.
UPDATE: On March 6 2009, police arrested Christopher C. Saunders on the felony charge of first-degree unlawful discharge of a laser. His apartment is in Burien, near the area where the lasers originated. According to the Seattle Times, Saunders told police he was “pointing the light in multiple directions outside a party and may have layered a plane.” From KOMOnews and the Seattle Times.
UPDATE #2: A March 25 2009 AP story stated that Saunders had been released with no charges filed against him. The story also noted that a laser was aimed at an Alaska Airlines flight landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The source of the laser was “near the source of previous laser reports.” From SignOnSanDiego quoting KOMO television.
.

US: Man arrested for flashing patrol plane

A Thurston County man who was fooling around with a laser pointer could face federal charges after pointing the laser at a Washington State Patrol airplane.

"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.Click to read more...