Laser strike on JFK-inbound jet

New York Post | 4/17/2010 | Post Staff

[Menehune56]

A powerful green laser beam penetrated the cockpit of a jet getting ready to land at JFK International Airport, and it was so bright the pilot had to shield his eyes, authorities said. The pilot told air traffic controllers that he had to use a sun visor to shield his eyes after the the light shone into the cockpit of the JetBlue plane at 7:45 p.m. The light appeared to come from the shoreline and was pointed directly at the cock[pit, the pilot said. The plane, flying from Portland to JFK, landed safely without incident. Police are investigating.

[Menehune56]

I didn't see any indication this story had been posted on FR. It reminded me of TWA flight 800 that went down around off Long Island back in 1996.

[choctaw man]

Could the religion of peace have a hand in this????

[Kozak]

Or some drunken douchebag. Green lasers are a dime a dozen and douchebags are even more common.

[foyen]

Of course not. It was the Mennonites. Everyone knows that.

[mlizzy]

Here's the link to the story.

[ml/nj]

These laser-in-the-eyes-of-a-pilot strike me as BS. Pilots are focused on the numbers on the runway if they can see the runway at all. Planes are approaching the runway at about 150 MPH, and have pretty poor to nonexistent visibility forward and down. Aiming a small dot from the ground that might ever do anything other than be a millisecond flash into a cockpit, let alone a pilots eye's, just isn't possible without some sort of sophisticated computer tracking and control system.

ML/NJ

[PackerBoy]

I am always surprised when they catch these a-holes. I figure it must be observant neighbors who turn them in.

[PackerBoy]

I thought that, too. But a pilot told me that the sall beam disperses a bit at altitude, and is often still strong enough to bathe the cockpit in a very distracting light that can make it difficut to read instruments at a crucial time.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

Laser strikes on a civilian transport!

Rebel Scum!

When will The Emperor order Tarkin to destroy Alderan and rid us of these pests?

[raybbr]

These laser-in-the-eyes-of-a-pilot strike me as BS. Pilots are focused on the numbers on the runway if they can see the runway at all. Planes are approaching the runway at about 150 MPH, and have pretty poor to nonexistent visibility forward and down. Aiming a small dot from the ground that might ever do anything other than be a millisecond flash into a cockpit, let alone a pilots eye's, just isn't possible without some sort of sophisticated computer tracking and control system.

I agree. Aren't the planes essentially pointing up just before landing? The angle of attack of the laser would have to be about 10 to 15 degrees up in order for it to make into the cockpit at pilot eye level. That would be it would have to be sited at a very large distance and held completely steady for it work.

The chances of a single millisecond long flash is possible but even that would be extremely hard to do.

[screaminsunshine]

Just a playful Jihadist having a little fun.

[Flightdeck]

yet the pilots who have experienced it disagree.

[ARepublicanForAllReasons]

Mark me down as a skeptic. How can we be certain it was even a lasar beam? Although I have no degree in optics, I know that sunlight can reflect in unexpected ways.

Or, it could have been the Green Lantern...

[6SJ7]

Of course not. It was the Mennonites. Everyone knows that.

Could be. The more strict Amish would stick to the old-school red lasers. Green lasers are too modern.

[ßuddaßudd]

Lasers can exceed 5 miles as per google check.

[ml/nj]

But a pilot told me that the sall beam disperses a bit at altitude

Get yourself a 50x power telescope. Go out near some airport (preferably one with some commercial jet traffic as us gnats only approach at 80 MPH or so) and see if you can ever see into a cockpit or view a pilot's face. Then come back and report to us.

ML/NJ

[82ndABNOfficer]

I read a book several years back that said during the Clinton years, the Russians were testing powerful lasers to blind pilots. Not sure if this is related or not. If my memory strikes me right, they were lasers mounted from ships.

[Shaun_MD]

Russians, Poland, planes crashing and lasers. Hmmmmmm.

[dfwgator]

It was Dr Evil

[Menehune56]

How did I miss that? Thanks for the addition!