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FrozenGate by Avery

Bronx Guy Lasering Airport Flights...crap






The guy is an idiot but the article, as expected, contains propaganda. Or if not propaganda, they are being intentionally vague.

They mention "eye injuries" but don't specify what kind. Retinal burns? Momentary flash blindness? What?

Given the distance from the airport (8 miles) and usual glide slope (3°) that puts the plane at about 2200 feet of altitude. For a 1mrad beam divergence and assuming a generous 1mm beam waist (most 303 lasers aren't that good) that puts the spot size at about 27" in radius (54" in diameter) at the aircraft. I strongly doubt that a 303 will do eye damage under such circumstances. Flash blindness yes, but damage? I don't believe it. The article is being intentionally misleading when it comes to talking about this.

Don't get me wrong, pointing at airplanes is idiotic, but the media is blowing this out of proportion and generally misrepresenting the details that matter.

Also, I've said it before and will say it again — this is a circumstance that can and should be anticipated by pilots and flight training programs. All commercial flights are IFR (flown via instruments) and they can land the jet with zero visibility (due to fog/weather or even windscreen damage) and it isn't a problem unless there's a crosswind or damage to the plane. That is why laser pointers have never, and will never, crash a routine flight.

The news media intentionally distorts the facts and all it will do is give the wasted paychecks at the FDA/customs/etc. another reason to justify squandering more tax dollars.
 
Some idiot just did that here in New Mexico as well. The local media kept that story alive for more than a week. The BS they spewed was incredible and although the caught the guys (little gang bangers), the barrage of people they interviewed and local pilots lambasting all lasers as tools of pure evil was nauseating.

Our enemy is the media just as much as any idiot that gets a 303 from eBay and uses it improperly.
 
I'm sure that the pilots, etc, are sent to the ER as a precaution, and, as with any "accident on the job" the employer needs documentation for due diligence/tort liability protection.

Also, some of these guys crashed claiming they were temporarily blinded by a bright light for example, so, if that's your excuse for a crash, you need it to sound serious and not like some random excuse, etc.

They also seem to all have an obvious agenda to "make an example" of each incident, helping to cement public opinion that it is a real problem.

So, sure, no one at those ranges is going to get eye damage from a pointer, but, they can get severe screen glare...and, if on a visual approach, it IS reasonable that they would not instantly be able to transition to an non-visual approach, especially if they temporarily lose the ability to see the controls to make the transition.

So, no one should be aiming lasers at aircraft....period.

Its stupid and dangerous....and, DOES need to stop.....but, its hard to fix stupid.


Some perspective on the events, such as clarification as to eye "damage" vs "temporary glare" and so forth, would help to get a grip on reality though...

..but, its in the media's interests to make it sound as scary as possible, so people will worry that THEIR plane might crash when a laser pointer hits the pilot in the eye and melts his brains causing a crash, etc.

:tinfoil::tinfoil:
 
I HATE morons like that !!!! :yabbmad:


Not only does he put others at risk, but he provides fuel for the fire to ban all lasers.

I do like to shine my laser into the sky, BUT I make 100% sure no aircraft is around. My fear is that with so many Bozos trying to hit aircraft, someday someone is going to call the cops saying I'm trying to hit aircraft.


Bob Diaz
 
Re: Brooklyn Guy Lasering Airport Flights...crap

InfinitusEquitas said:
These kinds of articles no longer surprise me at all, except to frustrate.

Unfortunately, yes, people just don't realize the potential for harm.

That said, to date, a laser pointer has never caused any aviation accident (thankfully) so I find the paranoia about them to be misplaced.

I'm also extremely annoyed that several articles I read about this particular case, mention pilots being treated for injuries. Now that's just true BS. There is no way in hell that laser has anywhere near the necessary divergence and power at a distance to do any kind of harm. I'm probably more seriously "injured" on my nightly walks by car headlights.



Hit edit, and then advanced edit. You can then change the thread title.
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yeah I find those ass hats that don't turn turn there 8000k high beams down when i'm driving. They really mess up my NV and driving vision. There's no way a laser dot 2-3x the size of your head can cause eye injures if it's pointer strength. Otherwise I'd be blind from testing this. It can however saturate your cones due to the monochromatic green nature.

BTW Russia literally might of lased a freaking shuttle. Terra-3 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
The Sary Shagan Terra-3 testbed included a high- energy ruby laser and a high-energy CO2 laser. Vympel was primarily responsible for the overall concept and design of Terra-3, but the lasers were developed by Astrofizika. One of Terra-3's first operational uses was conducted in 1984 at the insistence of Defence Minister Dmitri Ustinov, who was concerned that the US space shuttle was being used as a reconnaissance platform. On 10 October 1984, on the 13th Challenger mission, the US space shuttle was tracked by the Terra-3 laser at low power while being directed by the 5N24 Argun phased-array radar at the Sary Shagan PVO site. This caused malfunctions on the space shuttle and distress to the crew, leading to a formal US diplomatic protest. In 1989, US scientists were allowed to inspect one of the associated laser sensors of the Terra-3 complex that was used to aim the main beams. Although the complex provided the Soviet programme with considerable detail about laser interaction with typical ICBMs and re-entry vehicles, Terra-3 did not prove practical as a weapon.

Jane's
 
I really wonder if some of this started with the Tom Clancy book "Debt of Honor" published in 1994. Most of you probably know who Tom Clancy was, 17 of his books were best sellers including his first book "The hunt for Red October" published in 1984, that book and several others were later made into movies. Fortunately "Debt of Honor" was never made into a movie. I won't bother going into the plot of the book but the weapon wasn't a laser, I don't think we had powerful portable lasers yet but it would have given people the idea. In the book it was a very directional flash device of a few million candle power intended more for temporarily disabling small groups of people on the ground, but these 2 CIA guys used it to cause the crash of a Japanese military aircraft on landing, a jet liner sized AWACS if I remember right. They created a flash of a few million candle power about the width of the cockpit blinding the pilots just as they were going to land. At the time I remember wondering how long it would be before someone really does this. Near the end of the book a jetliner is also crashed into the Capitol building in D.C. I suppose that could have given someone some ideas too.

Alan
 
Pi R Squared said:
I really wonder if some of this started with the Tom Clancy book "Debt of Honor" published in 1994. Most of you probably know who Tom Clancy was, 17 of his books were best sellers including his first book "The hunt for Red October" published in 1984, that book and several others were later made into movies. Fortunately "Debt of Honor" was never made into a movie. I won't bother going into the plot of the book but the weapon wasn't a laser, I don't think we had powerful portable lasers yet but it would have given people the idea. In the book it was a very directional flash device of a few million candle power intended more for temporarily disabling small groups of people on the ground, but these 2 CIA guys used it to cause the crash of a Japanese military aircraft on landing, a jet liner sized AWACS if I remember right. They created a flash of a few million candle power about the width of the cockpit blinding the pilots just as they were going to land. At the time I remember wondering how long it would be before someone really does this. Near the end of the book a jetliner is also crashed into the Capitol building in D.C. I suppose that could have given someone some ideas too.

Alan
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No I think it's the fact that green lasers reassemble lasers in star wars like the death star one and people are blown away by their power and decide to play sci-fi for a day.
 
Thank goodness shining lasers at police and aircraft are already felonies and won't cause legislators to have to choose between making new laws or banning them altogether, at least if media doesn't get a hold of too many felons
 
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I wish planes had a anti laser that fired back at these jerks so they know what it feels like.
 
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