Dear readers,
As pilots, we face certain dangers every time that we strap a jet onto our backs. A lot of the dangers are beyond our control, like the weather, ATC delays causing fatigue, turbulence, or a mechanical failure inflight. Some things we can control, like maintenance issues before takeoff – as in, “Is my jet safe to fly?” We can easily have an unruly passenger removed at the gate – though we may want to while in flight. We learn to deal with these threats and have ways to mitigate them, but one threat that should be completely eliminated is the threat of being lasered in flight.
This month, I personally have had two laser hits in flight. Luckily, neither was a direct hit so there was no damage to our eyes. Until then, it had been a while since I had been lasered, but according to the FAA, last year there were 13,304 reported laser strikes on aircraft. This is an astounding rise of 40% over 2022! There is one valuable tactic I have learned that I want to share with our pilot readers. As soon as possible, and of course as time permits after the laser strike, use your iPad flight-planning software to drop a pin and mark the approximate GPS location from which the laser strike emanates. Report the GPS coordinates to ATC as soon as practicable. This will help authorities better locate the offenders. Bookmark the following link for handy reference: https://aerocrewnews.com/FAA-LASER
It is a federal crime to point a laser at an aircraft! Aero Crew News stands with the FAA in informing the public to Lose the Laser! https://aerocrewnews.com/LoseTheLaser
Fly Safe,
Craig Pieper
