military aircraft had lasers pointed at then, Pope

JBoyette

JBoyette

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#NOTICE: Pope Army Airfield Message to Community

On two different occasions, military aircraft had lasers pointed at them from the ground while flying in Pope Army Airfield airspace. The incidents happened several weeks apart and were coming from two different locations. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), over 5,500 lasers were aimed at aircraft throughout the United States and US territories in 2018. Not only is the aiming of lasers towards aircraft a federal crime, but it is extremely dangerous.

Legislation passed in 2012 making it a federal crime to aim a laser pointer at an aircraft. Those who witness someone aiming a laser at an aircraft can report it by e-mailing [email protected] and including your name, contact information, date and time of incident, and the location and description of the incident.

For additional information on this topic, you can find it on the FAA website: www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/lasers/

Thank you for your cooperation!
 
So when I think laser, I think of either the small, pencil-size with which you play with cats, or the big, honkin' military-grade. 5,500...that's a lot. What kind of lasers are they using that aircrews notice?
 
Chuckman said:
So when I think laser, I think of either the small, pencil-size with which you play with cats, or the big, honkin' military-grade. 5,500...that's a lot. What kind of lasers are they using that aircrews notice?
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I had your same question until I picked up a laser unit a few years back. "how can this tiny beam impact the pilots"

Yes they are very, very narrow up close and the light beam appears to be "parallel" but in reality it is not perfectly parallel. I have a crimson trace CMR206 and at night I've shined it horizontally down my friend's farm and it will gently illuminate the whole height of the tree line at roughly 975 yds. Not flashlight type illumination, but the trees turn a noticeable light green. So you can think of it as a very long shallow tapered cone of emitted light vs a defined horizontal column of light. At least this is what I've noticed personally.
 
tod0987 said:
I had your same question until I picked up a laser unit a few years back. "how can this tiny beam impact the pilots"

Yes they are very, very narrow up close and the light beam appears to be "parallel" but in reality it is not perfectly parallel. I have a crimson trace CMR206 and at night I've shined it horizontally down my friend's farm and it will gently illuminate the whole height of the tree line at roughly 975 yds. Not flashlight type illumination, but the trees turn a noticeable light green. So you can think of it as a very long shallow tapered cone of emitted light vs a defined horizontal column of light. At least this is what I've noticed personally.
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<5 milliwatts at the distance to an aircraft from the ground then is going to be less intense than sunlight and completely harmless.


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I have a cheap Aimsport 2.5-10 scope with a green laser. I also have a cheap laser pointer that emits a red laser.

I noticed the green laser is brighter and can been seen further away than the red. It seems really powerful.

One night, the wife and I were enjoying some beverages on the front porch. I could see lights flickering in the sky and could tell it was a commercial airliner. I grabbed the scope and said, "I wonder if we can see the laser on the belly of that plane." My wife screamed "NO!"

I laughed. I wasn't about to point a green laser at a plane. No way.

I may have pointed it in the neighbor's yard while his cat was prowling around.
 
$5 solution
images
 
Just reverse the path of a laser guided portion of some surplus missiles and the problem will resolve itself
 
JimP42 said:
<5 milliwatts at the distance to an aircraft from the ground then is going to be less intense than sunlight and completely harmless.


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It isn't going to burn holes etc an usually won't permanently blind every time but temporary "flash" blindness has been reported on several occasions by pilots. At high altitude this isn't much of an immediate life/death situation, but at low altitude in a helicopter or on a visual approach into an airport it becomes an issue. Several cases come up with a simple google.
 
tod0987 said:
It isn't going to burn holes etc an usually won't permanently blind every time but temporary "flash" blindness has been reported on several occasions by pilots. At high altitude this isn't much of an immediate life/death situation, but at low altitude in a helicopter or on a visual approach into an airport it becomes an issue. Several cases come up with a simple google.
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They must be better lasers then, either better collimated or more powerful than the one described above.


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JimP42 said:
<5 milliwatts at the distance to an aircraft from the ground then is going to be less intense than sunlight and completely harmless.


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Not completely accurate. In another life I had a pilot declare an emergency and request an immediate landing due to being hit in the eyes with a laser. Night time. Dark. Aircraft configured for such with low lighting and getting hit in the eyes may not cause permanent damage, but it does have the ability to cause pain and temporary blindness/disorientation.
 
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Mike V said:
Not completely accurate. In another life I had a pilot declare an emergency and request an immediate landing due to being hit in the eyes with a laser. Night time. Dark. Aircraft configured for such with low lighting and getting hit in the eyes may not cause permanent damage, but it does have the ability to cause pain and temporary blindness/disorientation.
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I seriously doubt that was a laser pointer.

I am a little confused about asking to land immediately when flash blind...


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When I OPFOR stationed at NTC in '88/'89 we had MILES Stingers & were forbidden to engage fixed wing/fast movers with them (had to pop a star cluster & radio it in to the O/Cs), but choppers were fair game. I would think 'blinding' would be an issue for either type of pilot? I kinda sorta vaguely recall being told something about it interfering with their sensors & controls.
 
There's a thread on Enos where a employee of one of the legit laser sight outfits explained frustration at a lot of Chinese imports claiming below legal power but being no where near. Pretty sure there's hobbyists that build/modify them as well, just like 2-way radios, illegal, need a license, oh nos better not do that.
 
JimP42 said:
I seriously doubt that was a laser pointer.

I am a little confused about asking to land immediately when flash blind...


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Let's see if I can clear it up. Aircraft at 3000 on downwind for runway 23L. Probably number 5 or 6 for landing. Pilot got lasered in the eyes. Severe pain and temp blindness. Co pilot declared an emergency and the aircraft became number 2 for landing with an immediate turn to base leg and another aircraft taken off final approach to make space for the emergency. I never said it was a laser pointer, I said laser. I have no idea type or power rating.
 
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Beef15 said:
There's a thread on Enos where a employee of one of the legit laser sight outfits explained frustration at a lot of Chinese imports claiming below legal power but being no where near. Pretty sure there's hobbyists that build/modify them as well, just like 2-way radios, illegal, need a license, oh nos better not do that.
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While in France, one of my colleagues produced a laser he brought back from Shanghai. He melted a hole in one of their cute little after lunch coffee cups.

The beam was bluish.
 
kcult said:
The beam was bluish.
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Probably a blue ray laser. There are a number of different "builds". Some are exceedingly powerful. I don't recall what the site name was but there was a forum solely for laser builds.


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Mike V said:
Let's see if I can clear it up. Aircraft at 3000 on downwind for runway 23L. Probably number 5 or 6 for landing. Pilot got lasered in the eyes. Severe pain and temp blindness. Co pilot declared an emergency and the aircraft became number 2 for landing with an immediate turn to base leg and another aircraft taken off final approach to make space for the emergency. I never said it was a laser pointer, I said laser. I have no idea type or power rating.
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I don’t doubt that it happens and that there are better lasers. My posts in this thread have just been reacting to the description of a laser in post - beam the height of a tree line at under 1000 yards. I have seen a military laser used with NV (using NV myself - I think it was an IR laser) and they spread very little and were very bright. I don’t want to get flashed by one of those for sure.

Copilot explains why they could land right away.


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