Menace of laser yobs who target police helicopters
A POLICE helicopter pilot has revealed how he has been targeted by laser-wielding yobs more than 20 times in his career – and that the menace is getting worse.
Ollie Dismore described how thugs use high-powered pointers to dazzle pilots mid-air, putting their eyesight – and even their lives – in danger.
He spoke out as the National Police air Service (NPAS) released a series of videos showing just how blinding the attacks can be for those in the cockpit.
Officers say the piercing beams could eventually cause a devastating crash, and there have been growing demands for them to be classed as offensive weapons to make it illegal to possess them.
The striking images were released after a Virgin atlantic flight carrying 252 passen--- gers from London to New York was forced to turn back after the co-pilot was dazzled by a laser as it took off from Heathrow.
In Sunday’s incident, the captain put out a distress call, warning his co-pilot had suffered a ‘medical issue’.
a British airways pilot suffered eye damage after a similar attack last year, and a recent survey found half of all airline pilots had been targeted by lasers in the previous 12 months.
Mr Dismore, director of operations at NPAS, said he had been targeted more than 20 times in his 23-year career as a police pilot.
Describing the effect of being dazzled, he said: ‘When this comes upon you in the dark it will come through one side into the canopy, which is a bit like a goldfish bowl, and bounces around the internal surfaces. ‘You get a very distracting flickering effect of the beam inside the cockpit. It is quite disconcerting because it is not a steady light that you can look at and your eyes adjust to, it is a flickering strobing effect. and if you are trying to fly and look at the instruments then it is quite an unnerving experience.’ Lasers have the strength to temporarily blind or even cause permanent damage to the retina at the back of the eye. Mr Dismore said pilots suffered ‘significant after-image’ after a laser attack, meaning the light lingers in their vision, and said it could cause irritation, ‘like having dust in your eye’. Police helicopter pilots receive special training to turn away safely from the beam and trials have begun on protective eyewear. The NPAS footage also demonstrates how onboard cameras can pinpoint the exact location of lasers, allowing the crew to guide officers on the ground to catch the culprits. The videos show green laser beams being shone at police helicopters over London in three sepa- rate episodes between 2011 and 2015. In the 2011 footage, a bright green light hits the cockpit windscreen and, as the helicopter turns, the beam can be seen coming from a tower block below.
Using navigation equipment, the pilot was able to give the precise location to the control room, and a man was later arrested in Haringey, North London, and charged with endangering an aircraft.
In august 2015, a police helicopter was targeted as it flew over Tower Hamlets in east London.
Its camera shows a green laser beam coming from a tower block and then switches to infra-red, showing three men standing on a balcony on the block. a man was later arrested and cautioned for shining a laser at the aircraft.
There were 108 reports of lasers being used against police helicopters in 2015, and almost 9,000 attacks were reported to the Civil aviation authority between 2009 and June 2015. Ministers are due to consult with airlines and the Caa next week on how the public can be better protected.
Laser attack at 8,000ft on holiday flight
From Tuesday’s Daily Mail