US: Crew member has partial vision loss from laser illumination

A crew member on a medical rescue flight said he lost 30 percent of the vision in his right eye, after being illuminated by a green laser on September 15 2017 while on approach to Centennial Airport, located 17 miles southeast of Denver, Colorado.

Respiratory therapist Justin Misuraca was sitting in the co-pilot’s seat of a Flight for Life plane, helping the pilot watch for other air traffic, when a bright green light filled his vision. He closed his eyes and looked away; when he opened his eyes he was blinded for a few seconds.

A few days later he saw an eye specialist. Misuraca said the specialist told him “…there was a burn all the way to the back of my eye, and I’m missing 30 percent of my vision in an upside-down V.” He was told the burn was “half a millimeter from my optic nerve.”

This screenshot from the KUSA 9news segment “Next” shows Justin Misuraca with a triangular blur overlay that the program says represents the visual effect of the laser injury. The area is highlighted below between the green lines to better define the area.

Misuraca reported this in an October 25 2017 interview with a reporter, so the vision loss was still present over a month after the laser illumination.

The pilot on the September 15 flight also reported temporary blindness but has no permanent injury.

According to Flight for Life, there have been “at least a dozen times in the last couple of years” that the organization’s aircraft have been targeted by a laser beam. The source of the September 15 laser illumination is unknown.

From October 25 and October 26 reports by 9news.com

Tags: US, Colorado, Denver, Airplane, Medical, Color: Green, Photo: Other