As i've commented in other threads, i do not believe that this boys eye damage is the result of an accidental reflection grazing his eye. I've seen the retinal pictures, and thoe display serious damage, perhaps cause by staring down the barrel of this 150 mW laser, perhaps even more than once.
Plus passing legislation banning lasers is much cheaper than having the windscreens on every aircraft in the country coated..
Hmm.. i call BS on that argument really. If someone wanted to purposely interfere with air traffic, they would already know they are committing a felony. Somehow i think the additional charge of owning and operating an overpowered laser would be neglible in comparison to the legal implications of purposely and knowingly endangering an aircraft.
The chief things to note in that regard are:
- there is no case of any life lost or equipment damaged due to lasers pointed at aircraft.
- there is no indication that lasers are used to intentionally maime people.
- that a laser is no more dangerous than a hammer - both could be used for assault, murder or downing aircraft, with the hammer being easier to use and more readily available.
I think lasers just suffer from the bad rep gathered from scifi series where they are featured as weapons... currently, the only party in the world to seriously consider and test lasers as offensive weaponry is the US government.
