Posted on 01/02/2005 7:16:29 PM PST by Blood of Tyrants
Just reported: An airline on approach to the Nashville airport has had it's cockpit targeted by a green laser. The plane was about 6 miles out and at 3000 feet when the incident occurred. The plane landed safely and no one was injured.
This makes SEVERAL reports of green lasers being targeted at commercial airlines in the past several days. Something really weird is going on and it is a concerted effort by several individual groups acting in concert or one very mobile unit.
How about just a bunch of kids and other geeks getting green lasers for Christmas?
It's very easy. I'll sell you one right now.
Just googled this: http://www.wickedlasers.com - green for US$79.
He was six miles from the threshhold, not six miles from the laser. And a green laser can easily hit an aircraft at 3000 feet. Here's a video of one burning a hole (!) in a plastic cup from four feet away.
Actually it's quite easy.
Not true. That quarter-mile visibility is to the target and back again or a half-mile which would be 2600 feet. And that's dependent on the reflectivity of the target. Seeing it at the other end when it's pointed at you would be easier much farther out -- say to 3000 feet and beyond.
"A lot of aircrews reported seeing "UFOs" in the 50's and 60's. These things come in spurts."
This doesn't preclude the possibility that a lot of aircrews in the 50's and 60's DID see something they couldn't explain, obviously.
Neither of us was in a cockpit of a plane reporting this this week, but if you are in a cockpit and a green light flashes and reflects on the inside of the cockpit glass, there isn't much doubt about what it is. If (as some pilots reported) 2 or 3 are lighting you up, that is probably pretty distinct also. Assuming that at this point reporting such an incident will subject the cockpit crew to at least an extra few hours of debriefing, interviews, etc., by authorities, I assume any crew reporting such a thing at this point is at least worried that they did see something similar to the stuff reported.
The real question, as always, is source and motive.
"Mine would only shine about 2000 feet."
Actually, even the weakest laser shines an unlimited distance unless it it absorbed by something. A few miles of air won't do it. Remember, YOU only think it went 2000 feet since the reflection back to you was weak enough that you couldn't pick it out. But the guy on the other end who gets hit in the eye will tell you it's pretty bright still. It's like radar dectectors. They can see the radar before the police spot them since the police must see the reflected beam, which is very weak.
Or try this. Go into the woods with a flashlight mounted on your head. The sniper will shoot you before you even see him.
"US CIA operatives bring down Japanese commercial flights in the process of landing from hotel rooms near airports in Japan."
Actually, they took out a couple of e-757 awac-type planes...iric
"USA Today reports that the FBI believes the incidents are caused by "michief makers" and not terrorists. "
The fbi always says this....except when 4 planes are hijacked at once.
"Just googled this: http://www.wickedlasers.com - green for US$79."
Holy crap! This is insane. What do these people think their customers use these for? "For professional use only." What is that supposed to mean? I am a professional moron. Can I have one? Or I am a professional terrorist. Can I have one?
These are some VERY wicked lasers as their name indicates. There are a lot of kids (and 'adults') out there who would plunk down a couple hundred bucks to have some "fun".
Green lasers for $79.00. I guess that explains it, people buying these things and misusing them, or as someone else put it earlier on this thread, hold muh beer an' watch this.
Maybe it's time to outfit planes with these retro-reflectors in case they actually do up the power (and zap 'em right back!) and/or scare off the pranksters, if that's what they are.
"more than 30 years ago, Apollo astronauts put mirrors on the Moon - small arrays of retro reflectors that can intercept laser beams from Earth and bounce them straight back." -- from http://www.firstscience.com/site/articles/galileo.asp
What DO retro reflectors look like, anyway? 3 flat mirrors at right angles to each other or what?
That's not always or entirely true nuffsenuff. Those 19 parasites made a few 'dry runs' to get the passenger and staff routines down before they carried out what they did.
Latest Update...Techno Party in local area was being held at the same time. The FBI is lookong for a suspect known as Ronny Raver the Lighting Legend...
Did you watch this video?
http://www.onewavedesigns.com/laser/burningcup.mpg
He takes a green laser he sells (about 185 mW) and burns a hole in a plastic cup on the other side of his kitchen table. It's about the size of a two-cell AA flashlight.
I still don't think people get it that the 5 mW laser pointers are not capable of doing anything harmful to an aircraft crew, if they could be detected at all (unlikely).
Here's two pictures of the set-up on the moon.
More here.
Watch the video in post 117.
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