Release #11.12
June 1, 2011

FAA Action to Impose Stiff Fines Major Step in Ending Laser Attacks on Aircraft

WASHINGTON–The Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), welcomed today’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of a new legal tool that will help authorities impose stiff civil fines against individuals who attack aircraft with lasers from the ground.

“Laser attacks on aircraft are extremely dangerous, for pilots and everyone who is aboard,” said Capt. Lee Moak, ALPA’s president, after participating in the announcement news conference at Reagan Washington National Airport. “Individuals who shine a laser at an aircraft cockpit should know that they are committing a serious crime and that they will face penalties that are commensurate with it.”

New technology has made it easier for individuals to obtain more-powerful lasers at a lower cost. In January 2011, the FAA issued a report stating that a record number of laser events had occurred in 2010, a dramatic spike that was also reflected in ALPA’s records.

At a minimum, shining a laser at an aircraft can create a dangerous distraction in the cockpit. Laser attacks usually take place when the aircraft is close to the ground, and, as a result, the lights can distract pilots during takeoff and landing, which are the busiest and most critical times of flight. In more serious cases, a laser illumination can cause temporary blindness and incapacitation and even permanently damage a pilot’s eyes.

In January 2011, ALPA continued its long-time efforts to end laser attacks by issuing a regulatory, legislative, and public-awareness action plan to end the threat from laser attacks. The plan calls for:

• Making shining lasers at an aircraft a specific federal crime
• Restricting the sale and use of portable lasers that are strong enough to cause injury
• Increasing the size of laser-free zones around airports and prohibiting the use of all lasers in such zones
• Developing and implementing improved air traffic control and pilot operating procedures for re-routing aircraft around threat areas
• Adding the elimination of the deliberate laser illumination of all modes of transportation to the National Transportation Safety Board’s list of Most Wanted Transportation Safety Improvements