Laser-pointing incidents investigated after flights targeted on Christmas
Federal aviation authorities are investigating after two aircraft landing at Calgary’s airport reported separate laser strikes on Christmas Day.
According to Transport Canada reports obtained by Postmedia, WestJet Flight 4037 from Fort Mackay was in the final stages of landing at Calgary International Airport on Dec. 25 when the pilots reported an individual on the ground shining a laser into the cockpit a little before 9:30 p.m.
About 30 minutes later, an Air Canada flight from Montreal was similarly struck while landing, at an altitude of 5,000 feet, about six kilometres north of the airport.
Both planes landed without incident.
Airdrie RCMP Const. Dan Martin confirmed police were informed of the laser strike by Transport Canada and said patrols where the laser was believed to have originated — a rural area near CrossIron Mills — turned up nothing.
Incidents of hand-held laser pointers being directed at aircraft are a growing problem in Canada, according to numbers provided by Transport Canada.
In 2017, 19 such cases were reported by pilots in Alberta among 337 reports nationwide.
Laser light aimed at airplanes can cause difficulties for flight crews — particularly at night — distracting them and causing temporary blindness during critical stages of flight.
Offenders face as much as $100,000 in fines and five years in prison.
In February 2017, Transport Canada launched its Not a Bright Idea public education campaign aimed at reducing the number of reports of lasers shone at cockpits.
A number of people across Canada have been charged.
In August 2013, a 19-year-old Calgary man was charged after allegedly hitting the HAWCS police helicopter numerous times with a green laser as it flew over Dalhousie.
Temporarily blinded by the strike, the pilot and flight officer still managed to guide officials on the ground to make an arrest.
Anybody with information on the Christmas Day laser strikes is asked to call Airdrie RCMP at 403-945-7200, Calgary police at 403-266-1234 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800222-TIPS.