Posted on 01/04/2005 9:02:03 AM PST by areafiftyone
NEWARK — A Parsippany man who first claimed his daughter aimed a laser at a helicopter later told federal agents that he pointed the light beam at two aircraft, authorities said Tuesday. David Banach faces charges of interfering with the operator of a mass transportation vehicle and making false statements to the FBI. He is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court for a hearing Tuesday afternoon. The aircraft were targeted by the lasers near Teterboro Airport. On Wednesday night, a pilot preparing to land the jet reported seeing three green laser beams about 11 miles from the airport. “What was done was foolhardy and negligent,” said Joseph Billy, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Newark bureau. “While this particular incident was not terrorism-related, the FBI considers this an extremely serious matter. Not only was the safety of the pilot and passengers placed in jeopardy by Banach’s actions; so were countless innocent civilians on the ground in this densely populated area.” The plane, a chartered Cessna Citation, was flying at about 3,000 feet with 13 people aboard when the pilot and co-pilot saw a green laser beam strike and light up the windshield three times, according to court documents filed Tuesday. The flash of light temporarily blinded both the pilot and co-pilot, who soon regained their sight and were able to land the plane safely with no injuries reported. On Friday, the helicopter carrying Port Authority superintendent Samuel J. Plumeri Jr. and some detectives was hit by a beam as they surveyed the area in an attempt to pinpoint the origin of the original beams. Banach has not been charged in that incident, which remains under investigation. Later that day, FBI agents canvassed Banach’s neighborhood trying to find the source of the laser beams. Banach told the agents it was his daughter who shined a laser beam at the Port Authority helicopter, according to court papers. He showed the agents a black box containing “a silver, cigar-shaped object” that Banach said was the laser, according to the documents, but denied having used it when the Cessna was targeted. During further questioning at the FBI office in Newark, Banach submitted to a lie detector test and told agents that he shined the laser at the helicopter, but denied any involvement in Cessna incident, according to the complaint. Banach then admitted lying, and said he shined a laser beam at both aircraft, according to the court papers. His lawyer, Gina Mendola-Longarzo, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment Tuesday. In addition to the Teterboro incidents, federal agents are looking into recent reports of lasers being shone at aircraft in Colorado Springs, Colo., Cleveland, Washington, Houston and Medford, Ore., according to law enforcement and transportation officials, some of whom spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Federal law enforcement officials have said there is no evidence of a terrorist plot involving laser beams, though last month the FBI and the Homeland Security Department sent a memo to law enforcement agencies saying there is evidence that terrorists have explored using lasers as weapons.
Originally published on January 4, 2005
What's the difference between a green light laser and red light laser? Anyone know?
What's this first one of, Finnman?
Owl_Eagle
"You know, I'm going to start thanking
the woman who cleans the restroom in
the building I work in. I'm going to start
thinking of her as a human being"
Google turns this up:
http://www.laser66.com/html/laser_pointers.html
130 nm
So? The big question of "why" is never answered here. This reporter needs to go back to journalism school.
Stupidity.
About a hundred to hudred and fifty nm I'd guess.
The moral of this story? Something Martha knows only to well now. If you are going to shine a laser on an aircraft, don't lie about it to federal authorities.
"Check this out" ping.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/lights/5a47/
No, it's not red - it's green
Okay, just about everyone has a red laser pointer. Heck, we even sell a fine one here at ThinkGeek. But, we're pretty sure you want to be a superior geek - and doing it with a green laser is the way to go.
This pointer is significantly brighter (about 50 times) than a red laser pointer and because of its unusual color it is much more noticeable. I mean come on, a 532 nm green laser wavelength is obviously superior to a laughable 650 nm red laser wavelength. And unlike a red laser, the green beam itself can be seen in mid-air in dark conditions, not just the laser beam dot. This allows the green laser pointer to be used for pointing to star constellations (skypointing) and also just generally look cool as hell. The green laser beam dot can be seen at much greater distances than with a red laser pointer.
Since green direct injection laser diodes aren't readily available, this pointer is based on the use of Diode Pumped Solid State Frequency Doubled (DPSSFD) laser technology. A high power IR laser diode at 808 nm pumps a tiny block of Nd:YVO4 generating light at 1,064 nm which feeds a KTP intracavity frequency doubler crystal to produce the green beam at 532 nm.
Features of this unit include:
Extremely bright green laser at 532 nm wavelength
Output power of <5mW (Class IIIa Laser Product)
Range of approximately 9,000 ft (2600 m) in darkness
1.1 mm beam diameter at source
Momentary push button switch
Solid, heavy duty construction
Constant wave output (as opposed to pulse output)
Takes 2 "AAA" batteries (included)
Class IIIa Laser
Can be used for skypointing, projection on low clouds, signalling, detecting explosives
90-day warranty
What a retard. A few months in prison ought to set him on the straight and narrow. I'm amazed at what dolts we have here who harm (endanger) others by their idiocy.
Or just good detective work. They knew the area in which the light came from, so they probably just canvassed the neighborhood. From the article, it sounds like the guy "gave up" his daughter really quick, maybe in the initial interview as they were canvassing the neighborhood. This drew the suspicion of the agent(s) for some reason, so they asked him to take a lie detector test, where he crumbled under the pressure.
The "why" is the big mystery, imo. Stupidity does seem to be the front runner; I just can't believe someone could be so stupid though.
One means stop, the other means go...
Not only that....why do ordinary people need lasers in the first place?
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