Hit by a laser

[Flying Pig]

Anyone ever been hit with a high intensity laser while flying?   Happened to me tonight for the first time.  I was at 4000 agl when all of the sudden, the entire cockpit became the most brilliant and intense fluorescent green I have ever seen.  I couldn't see anything but green.  No instruments, couldnt see outside..NOTHING.  It was just after sunset.  I seriously thought I was experiencing a medical condition.  It lasted for about 1-2 seconds, then I could see the beam waving around.  I looked down and could see it was a person in a neighborhood shining it up at me.  The tower then called me and told me they had seen the laser also and wanted to know if I had been hit with it.  They then asked, "OK, now our protocol says were supposed to notify local law enforcement?  Can we assume we just notified local law enforcement?" 
This was a serious beam, not some laser pointer.  If it hasn't happened to you yet.......its pretty wild.

[fyrfitrmedic]

 This happened in Philly this past Thursday night:

(philly.com) - Police have filed charges against a Philadelphia man who pointed a laser at a police helicopter and temporarily blinded the pilot on routine air patrol.

Officers arrested Lenny J. Tavarez, 19, of the 4000 block of Ormond Street, Thursday night in the 4200 block of Palmetto Street in Juniata Park. Police said Tavarez repeatedly and intentionally illuminated the green laser at the helicopter while it was in the air.

The laser beam struck the pilot in his right eye, causing him to turn controls over to the co-pilot. The pilots saw the suspect, who continued aiming the laser at the aircraft, and directed officers on the ground to make the arrest.

Police said they recovered a silver penlike green laser from Tavarez. He is charged with risking a catastrophe, aggravated assault and related offenses.

[hatentx]

That sounds like the green lasers we used in Iraq. 

To bad you wernt being obducted by a UFO would have made a cooler ending

[jimmydeanno]

^Maybe he was and they just erased his memory.  Were you sore after this? 

I do wonder what the person was using, I don't know of too many people who own high powered lasers like that (in fact, I can't think of a single person).

[♠SARKID♠]

They're readily available if you know the website to go to.

People like that really get under my skin.  I can't stand it when people think they're just having fun but are too stupid to realize they are seriously risking somebodies life.  Same thing with people who launch fireworks at planes.

[lordmonar]

Anyone ever been hit with a high intensity laser while flying?   Happened to me tonight for the first time.  I was at 4000 agl when all of the sudden, the entire cockpit became the most brilliant and intense fluorescent green I have ever seen.  I couldn't see anything but green.  No instruments, couldnt see outside..NOTHING.  It was just after sunset.  I seriously thought I was experiencing a medical condition.  It lasted for about 1-2 seconds, then I could see the beam waving around.  I looked down and could see it was a person in a neighborhood shining it up at me.  The tower then called me and told me they had seen the laser also and wanted to know if I had been hit with it.  They then asked, "OK, now our protocol says were supposed to notify local law enforcement?  Can we assume we just notified local law enforcement?" 
This was a serious beam, not some laser pointer.  If it hasn't happened to you yet.......its pretty wild.

Make sure you go get your eyes checked.  Laser dazzeling can cause retna scarring.

[hatentx]

That is true and a normal eye exam doesn't look for laser burns either.  It is something special in it self.

[flyerthom]

Anyone ever been hit with a high intensity laser while flying?   

So did you catch him?

[MSgt Van]

If you have any eye damage caused by a laser it would be characterized by:
"floaties" floating around in your vision.
black or blank spots in your vision. These may not be readily apparent.

Having a normal blink response is usually enough protection from most "recreational" lasers (cheap red pointers) that are prevelant these days. If you experience any after effects I'd recommend an exam, although I doubt there's any "cure".  You'll have to get your eyes dialated and then they'll peer in and look for scarring or blood floating in the liquid of your eye. I've got the original pictures they took of the back of my eyes when I first went in the Air  Force (I was a repair tech on laser bombing systems).  They look like egg yokes with small blood vessels.
I had an annual exam to detect any damage. I can post one if anybody want to see the inner me...

[Flying Pig]

Anyone ever been hit with a high intensity laser while flying?   

So did you catch him?

Nope.  This are was pretty much a gang hood, and there wasnt much I could do from 4000 in the dark except call in the ground guys.  Dude was gone.

[caprr275]

there was a group of kids this last summer who would sit in a parkinglot across from the runway at my college of aviation and shine the lazer into the cockpit of every plane on final. it got so bad that the police camped out at the end of the active runway trying to catch them....

it never happened to me but it did to my old CFI like 3 times in one week

[CASH172]

There are some stargazers that use high powered lasers to point out specific stars and objects in space.  It is sometimes a good idea to know if you're around a stargazing area since they aren't part of TFRs.

[Larry Mangum]

Lasers are now being used as emergency flares and signaling devices: https://www.greatlandlaser.com/index.php

[DC]

Lasers are now being used as emergency flares and signaling devices: https://www.greatlandlaser.com/index.php

Maybe we should be trying to get welding googles for CAP pilots instead of NVGs or FLIR....

[scooter]

This happened to me about a month ago. I was about 2000Ft AGL, 4 mi from the airport. I notified the tower and the immediately started broadcasting to other aircraft and on ATIS about the "Unauthorized Laser" and its location. I don't know if they notified law enforcement or the FAA. I also reported this to the Wing safety folks since I was on a CAP mission. Never heard anything about it afterwords.

[JoeTomasone]

I have one of these lasers and while they do have practical & safe uses, they are NOT toys.    That being said, I am glad to hear that they can be seen laterally from the aircraft as they would be one of the items I would consider to signal an aircraft with at night. 

In case anyone is wondering, I initially bought mine to point out high objects (mostly antennas) during daylight to customers - a task for which they excel.

[Flying Pig]

This happened to me about a month ago. I was about 2000Ft AGL, 4 mi from the airport. I notified the tower and the immediately started broadcasting to other aircraft and on ATIS about the "Unauthorized Laser" and its location. I don't know if they notified law enforcement or the FAA. I also reported this to the Wing safety folks since I was on a CAP mission. Never heard anything about it afterwords.

Their really isnt much that can be done.  Our patrol guys got into the area and checked around, but everyone was gone.  I think we should have started knocking on doors and searching every house in town for a green laser!

[_]

This happened to me about a month ago. I was about 2000Ft AGL, 4 mi from the airport. I notified the tower and the immediately started broadcasting to other aircraft and on ATIS about the "Unauthorized Laser" and its location. I don't know if they notified law enforcement or the FAA. I also reported this to the Wing safety folks since I was on a CAP mission. Never heard anything about it afterwords.

Their really isnt much that can be done.  Our patrol guys got into the area and checked around, but everyone was gone.  I think we should have started knocking on doors and searching every house in town for a green laser!

If you were in the helo I'd think it's time to buzz the bozo.

[Flying Pig]

If this had occured in the helo, this would have had different outcome!

[a2capt]

When this whole laser thing first starting being real news with hitting cockpits on final I was in disbelief, that some little pathetic thing could cause so much harm.

What had happened was the green laser started becoming available on the consumer level.

I ranted about how if something was that [darn] powerful.. I wanted one.

I have one now. Tell you what.. it's with me in the airplane usually, too. If I ever get beamed, I'm firing back. ;-)

Probably no time to do that anyway.. but nice to think about it.