A comprehensive resource for safe and responsible laser use

Canada: Passenger plane pilot said to have eye injuries near Ottawa

On February 15 2020, the first officer of a Jazz Aviation De Havilland Dash-8 was 14 nautical miles from Ottawa International Airport when he was struck by a green laser beam aimed at the aircraft, which seats around 50 passengers. The captain requested medical assistance for the first officer. Upon landing, he was taken to a hospital for an evaluation.

He was said to have received injuries to his eyes; the nature and severity of the injuries were not reported.

Transport Canada opened an investigation into the incident.

From
AeroTime News Hub, official CADORS report. See also Canadian airline pilots' March 11 2020 reaction to this and other laser incidents.

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: Medical helicopter lased twice over Ottawa

Transport Canada reported that an Ornge medical helicopter was struck twice by a green laser beam at about 2 am on May 30 2014, as it flew five km northeast of Ottawa airport.

There were no reports of the laser’s effect immediately available.

According to the Ottawa Citizen, “a similar 2009 lasing incident left an Ornge pilot with serious eye damage and grounded for several weeks after he was hit by a laser beam while flying at about 2,000 feet over the Gatineau Hills.”

Statistics from Transport Canada list 461 reported laser incidents in 2013 -- an increase from the 357 reported in 2012. The Air Canada Pilots’ Association has asked for criminal penalties and more government control over laser devices.

From the Ottawa Citizen

Canada: Pilot suffers retinal damage; off work for months

In early September 2009, an air ambulance pilot was illuminated by a laser while transferring a patient to an Ottawa hospital. A news report in early November said that he "suffered retinal damage ... is still off work nearly two months later .... [and] could remain off work for another three months."

It was not clear from the story what type of aircraft -- fixed wing or helicopter -- the pilot was flying at the time.

Captain Barry Wiszniowski of the Air Canada Pilots Association, stated "Our judicial system has to understand the severity of the consequences. It would be catastrophic if a pilot was impaired by a laser and lost all situational awareness."

More statistics and information from
Canadian OH&S News.