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Catching up: Aviation incident news, Aug/Sept. 2012

We were away for most of August 2012, so here is a quick list of links having to do with news about aviation-related laser incidents.

US: Myrtle Beach ranks first on the FAA’s list of laser illuminations of commercial flights, ahead of Las Vegas and Orlando. This is leading to an August 4 meeting of the Horry County Council to consider a ban on laser pointers. From WMBF News, September 4.

UK: A 26-year-old who aimed a laser pen at a police helicopter was released after apologizing. The incident happened September 2 in the Beckenham area of London. From News Shopper, September 3.

UK: Devon and Cornwall police released a YouTube video showing a police helicopter being lasered by 19-year-old Stephen Lee Jones of Torquay. He was fined £250 for the May 24 2012 incident; it was the first prosecution under new laws by the police force. Officers said they have experienced about 20 laser hits over six months. From This Is South Devon, August 30, This Is the West Country, August 29, and BBC News England, August 28.

US: 18-year-old Jorge Quintero was arrested August 28 2012 for aiming a laser at the Ontario, California, police department helicopter. A patrol vehicle in the same area had been hit “two or three times in the last two weeks”. From the San Bernardino County Sun, August 29.

New Zealand: The pilot of an Air New Zealand flight was temporarily blinded in one eye while on approach to Blenheim Airport on August 27 2012. Police are looking for the perpetrator. From NZ City, August 28.

UK: 18-year-old Hammaad Arif of Blackburn was sentenced to six months in prison suspended for 12 months, ordered to do 240 hours unpaid work, and pay £85 costs, for shining a laser more than 12 times into a Lancashire Police helicopter. From This Is Lancashire, August 28.

US: Two people, 22 and 24, were arrested for pointing a laser at an air ambulance on August 25 2012. They also hit a police helicopter that was searching for the laser source. From the Fresno Bee, August 26.

US: A 19-year-old from Falmouth, Maine was charged on August 27 2012 with aiming a laser pointer at a commercial aircraft and at a boat on August 24 2012. (Links to original stories removed at request of teenager.)

US: A teenager was arrested for aiming a laser at a Border Patrol helicopter near Laredo, Texas. He was charged with interfering with the maneuvers of a federal agent. From the Laredo Sun, August 24.

UK: A 21-year-old woman from Hartlepool was arrested for aiming a laser at a Cleveland Police Force helicopter on August 22 2012. From the Hartlepool Mail, August 23.

US: A commercial aircraft approaching Kennedy Airport was lased, as was a police helicopter sent to investigate the August 21 2012 incident. The source came from near Brookhaven Airport in Shirley, Long Island, New York. Three helicopter officers went to a hospital emergency room due to headaches and possible eye damage. From the New York Post, August 23, Channel 6 News, August 23, and CBS New York, August 22.

US: Six months in prison for Orlando’s Glenn Stephen Hansen, who aimed at commercial aircraft at least 23 times from January to March 2012. He was also ordered to serve one year of supervised release and to pay around $10,000 restitution. From the Orlando Sentinel, August 23.

UK: Telephone threats were made to RAF Leeming, near Bedale, North Yorkshire, saying pilots would be dazzled by lasers in response to noise complaints. From the Northern Echo, August 22.

UK: Four aircraft were illuminated on one night, August 19 2012, at Leeds Bradford Airport. In a separate incident also on August 19, a 14-year-old boy was arrested for repeatedly targeting a West Yorkshire police helicopter with a laser pen. From the Harrogate News, August 20, the Yorkshire Evening Post, August 21 and the Telegraph and Argus, August 21.

US: There have been “several” green laser incidents recently at the Los Alamitos (Calif.) Joint Forces Training Base. Military and local police are looking for the persons responsible. From the Los Alamitos-Seal Beach Patch, August 20.

US: 51-year-old Martin Eugene Miller was arrested for aiming a laser pointer at an Orange County (Calif.) Sheriff’s Department helicopter on August 16 2012. He was held on $27,000 bail. From the Orange County Register, August 17.

Martin Eugene Miller laser
Martin Eugene Miller


US: A green laser was aimed into a plane’s cockpit as it flew over Walton County, Georgia, on August 15 2012. Police looked for suspects but could find no one. The story has background on additional laser incidents elsewhere. From the Loganville-Grayson Patch, August 18.

US: 42-year-old Thomas Kurtz of LaFayette, New York, was charged with misdemeanor reckless endangerment for shining a green laser at the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department helicopter on August 15 2012. From Syracuse.com, August 16.

UK: A 21-year-old man was arrested for aiming a laser pen at a 737 airliner over Washington, Tyne and Wear, on its way to Newcastle International Airport on August 14 2012. At the same time, police were investigating complaints of a laser being shone into windows of area homes. The story discusses other local and UK-wide laser incidents. From the Sunderland Echo, August 16 and ChronicleLive.co.uk, August 17.

US: A San Diego TV station aired a report demonstrating the hazards of laser hits on helicopters. Pilot and sheriff’s deputy Gary Kneeshaw told the station how the laser can hurt a pilot or cause him to crash. From 10 News, August 16.

US: Laser hits on Coast Guard aircraft from Air Station Savannah have halted air searches, according to a Coast Guard blog post. Incidents and statistics are given in the post, written by Lt. Stephanie Young. From the Coast Guard Compass, August 14.

UK: The Essex Police helicopter was hit by a laser, “temporarily stunning the crew”, as it flew over Basildon on August 14 2012. From the Southend Standard, August 15.

UK: 27-year-old Saqib Tayyab pleaded guilty to recklessly endangering a West Midlands police helicopter on June 6 2012. There were two lasers, from two different directions. Police were able to track one which led to Tayyab’s house in Mosely, a suburb of Birmingham. As they knocked on the door, items were thrown from a loft window. These turned out to be a £20 laser pen, a set of scales, and cannabis. He will be sentenced September 7. From the Birmingham Mail, August 10.