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US: From 6,500 to 7,100 laser incidents estimated for 2015

The latest statistics (as of November 5 2015) show that there were 5,148 reports of laser illuminations of aircraft in the U.S. from January 1 through October 9 2015, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. This is a substantial increase over laser/aircraft incidents during the same time period in previous years:

2015 thru Oct 9 450w


Based on trends in the years 2010 through 2014, this means that at the end of 2015 there could be between roughly 6,500 and 7,100 reported incidents. (The range is because in some years, the yearly total was between 1.28 and 1.37 times the Jan. 1 - Oct. 9 total.) We estimate that 2015 is likely to have roughly 6,850 incidents. This would be 176% of the 2014 total of 3,894 incidents.

2015 estimated total 450w


Stated on a daily basis, the number of reported incidents is expected to rise from 10.7 per day in 2014 to between 18.0 and 19.3 per day in 2015.

2015 est incidents per day


2015 information provided by FAA on November 5 2015. Statistical analysis done by LaserPointerSafety.com based on prior year FAA records.