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A man who pleaded guilty to shining a laser pointer at a landing airplane, temporarily hampering the pilots' vision, was sentenced Friday to two years of probation. The plane had six passengers and was about 3,000 feet above the ground when the laser beam hit the cockpit window on Dec. 29, 2004. The flight crew said a green beam struck the window three times, causing both pilots to briefly lose night vision. The plane, flying from Boca Raton, Fla., to New Jersey's Teterboro Airport, landed safely. David W. Banach, 39, of Parsippany pleaded guilty in November to violating a section...

NEWARK, N.J. A Parsippany man pleads innocent to federal charges that he pointed a hand-held laser device at an aircraft and lied to investigators about it. David W. Banach was arraigned yesterday on an indictment handed up March 23rd by a federal grand jury. Banach is accused of pointing a hand-held laser toward a charter aircraft en route to Teterboro Airport on December 29th. The laser beam allegedly lit up the cockpit, causing both pilots a temporary loss of night vision that briefly prevented them from seeing flight instruments and other aircraft in the vicinity. Banach's lawyer said he was...

March 24, 2005 -- A New Jersey man accused of pointing a laser at an airplane, temporarily blinding the pilot and co-pilot, was indicted yesterday under an anti-terror law. David Banach also was accused of lying to the FBI about the Dec. 29 incident, in which a small passenger jet's windshield and cabin were hit three times by a green laser as the plane readied to land at Teterboro Airport. The charges in the three-count federal indictment were similar to those filed against Banach in a complaint by the FBI in January. The indictment, handed up by a grand jury...

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - A man accused of pointing a green laser beam at a small passenger jet, temporarily blinding the pilot and co-pilot, was indicted Wednesday under the federal anti-terror Patriot Act. David W. Banach, who claimed he was looking at stars with his daughter, also was accused of lying to the FBI about the Dec. 29 incident in which the jet's windshield and cabin were hit three times with a beam as the plane approached Teterboro Airport. The charges in the federal indictment were similar to those filed against Banach in an FBI complaint in January; the indictment...

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...

NEWARK, N.J. - Federal authorities Tuesday used the Patriot Act to charge a man with pointing a laser beam at an airplane overhead and temporarily blinding the pilot and co-pilot. The FBI (news - web sites) acknowledged the incident had no connection to terrorism but called David Banach's actions "foolhardy and negligent." Banach, 38, of Parsippany admitted to federal agents that he pointed the light beam at a jet and a helicopter over his home near Teterboro Airport last week, authorities said. Initially, he claimed his daughter aimed the device at the helicopter, they said. He is the first person...

Man who admitted shining laser at aircraft indicted on Patriot Act charge By JEFFREY GOLD Associated Press Writer March 23, 2005, 4:51 PM EST NEWARK, N.J. -- A man accused of pointing a laser at an airplane, temporarily blinding the pilot and co-pilot, was indicted Wednesday under an anti-terror law. David W. Banach also was accused of lying to the FBI about the Dec. 29 incident, in which a small passenger jet's windshield and cabin were hit three times by a green laser as the plane readied to land at Teterboro Airport. The charges in the three-count federal indictment were...