Jet laser yob hunted after attack on pilot
THE hunt was on last night for the laser beam fiend who dazzled the co- pilot of a passenger airliner shortly after take- off from Heathrow.
A passenger on board the New York- bound Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340, which was forced to turn back, described it as “very scary”.
The Metropolitan Police is investigating the source of the beam.
If lives were put at risk the culprit faces life in prison.
The airline confirmed that the pilot, who complained of feeling unwell, was taken to hospital as a “precautionary measure”. There were no further details on his condition.
A spokeswoman said the safety of the 15- strong crew and 252 passengers on flight VS025 from London Heathrow to New York JFK on Sunday was a “priority”.
In a recording from the flight, a crew member can be heard telling air traffic control they have a “medical issue” with one of the pilots “after a laser incident on take- off”, and that they are going to return to Heathrow.
Bethany McHutchinson, a passenger on the airliner, said: “I think it's really scary, whether it was by accident or on purpose.
“If anything had happened, if it had been really serious, it could have put everyone's lives on the plane in danger.
“It is very scary, especially when you are up in the air and hear stuff like that.” John Tyrer, professor of optical instrumentation at Loughborough University and designer of laser safety equipment for the police said the pilot could have felt stunned or shocked by the incident.
Damage
He added: “If you get an attack in your eye it will make your eye water and you may get a headache.”
Mr Tyrer said: “If the laser is bought from reputable UK supply sources there are power density limits placed on these devices so that they can't cause any damage to the eye.
“However, there are people that buy these things off the internet which are shipped in typically from the Far East. They are very, very powerful lasers and have no use as a pointer.”
Some devices can cause permanent retinal damage.
In 2010 a law was passed in the UK which allows offenders to be charged with “shining a light at an aircraft in flight so as to dazzle or distract the pilot”.
The offender may be found guilty of “reckless endangerment” and jailed.
According to the British Airline Pilots Association ( Balpa), a laser can result in temporary vision loss associated with flash blindness, a “visual interference that persists after the source of illumination has been removed”, an after- image, an “image left in the visual field after exposure a bright light”, and
to glare.
Balpa general secretary Jim McAuslan said: “Aircraft are attacked with lasers at an alarming rate and with lasers with ever- increasing strength.
“It is an incredibly danger- ous thing to do. Shining a laser at an aircraft puts that aircraft, its crew and all the passengers on board at completely unnecessary risk.
“Modern lasers have the power to blind, and certainly to act as a huge distraction and to dazzle the pilots during critical phases of flight.”
Between 2009 and June 2015 more than 8,998 laser incidents across the country were reported to the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
Military
Topping the list for the number of most frequent laser incidents for the first six months of last year was Heathrow with 48, followed by Birmingham with 32, Leeds Bradford with 24 and Manchester with 23.
Lasers can be bought online for £ 20 to £ 500 for use as pointers in medicine and construction. Military grade lasers are available on the black market.