Rescuers fume over laser attacks
Pilots are fuming at persistent laser attacks as a medical expert says some publicly available laser pointers are powerful enough to ‘‘light a match’’.
Rescue helicopters, military aircraft and the police Eagle helicopter have been targeted this year, according to Civil Aviation Authority data that also showed attacks have more than doubled since 2015.
Dr Simon Dean, from the University of Auckland, said he knew of a child who needed treatment when his peers held him down and shone a laser pointer in his eye in a joke gone wrong.
People generally needed several seconds of exposure to suffer retinal damage but Dean advised against looking at even lowpowered pointers.
‘‘It’s not worth taking the risk,’’ said Dean, an eye surgeon and UoA ophthalmology lecturer.
He said for pilots, goggles were unlikely to help reduce distractions lasers caused unless they were very dark, which would be impractical for many flying situations.
An air ambulance in Hamilton had to turn away to avoid injury when a red laser struck in February.
In May, an Airbus A320 was flashed five times with a green laser when approaching Auckland International Airport.
Dean said high-powered lasers used in his profession were strictly regulated and pointers less than 1 milliwatt were suitable for tasks like pointing to a whiteboard.
Models as strong as 50mW were available online.
The use and possession of lasers above 1mW is regulated in New Zealand but a pilots’ union said laws were too soft.
Tim Robinson, New Zealand Air Line Pilots’ Association principal officer, wanted a ‘‘complete prohibition’’ on high-powered, portable, handheld, battery powered lasers.
He said NZALPA members, including air traffic controllers, voiced concern at surging numbers of reported laser attacks. ‘‘This is a very sad thing to say but until there’s a significant accident or incident, nothing seems to be getting done.’’
National MP Hamish Walker wanted to double fines to $4000 and maximum jail terms to six months for misusing pointers stronger than 1mw.
He’d proposed a bill banning possession of high-power lasers even in private places.
Exceptions applied for the armed forces and people the Director-General of Health authorised.
An Air New Zealand spokeswoman said the airline would ‘‘welcome any move to significantly increase penalties’’ for people who targeted flights.