The Wages of Idiocy

An as-of-yet unidentified Virginia man was arrested in early-March 2023 after directing a laser pointer at a police helicopter actively searching for a fugitive.

The Fairfax County Police Department reports its helicopter, the somewhat prosaically-named Fairfax 1, was assisting Virginia State Police in tracking a suspect who fled from the latter agency’s troopers on 10 March at approximately 23:25 EST.

While pursuing subject individual, Fairfax 1’s crew observed a person pointing a laser at their aircraft from an apartment complex.

Adeptly utilizing the helicopter’s Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) system, the Fairfax 1 crew determined the laser had been shone from an apartment balcony in the 9200 block of Pohick, Virginia’s Ashland Woods Lane.

Detectives from Fairfax County's Special Investigation Division located the offending individual, a 25-year-old man, and arrested him on charges of interfering with the operation of an aircraft—a Class 1 misdemeanor in the Virginian Commonwealth.

In a post-incident Facebook posting, the Fairfax County Police Department stated: "Pointing a laser at an aircraft is illegal and also a very bad idea when that aircraft is a police helicopter.”

The suspect was booked and released on a secure bond.

The number of reported instances involving the aiming of lasers at U.S. aircraft hit a record high in 2021—rising 42% over the previous year to a deplorable and worrying total of 9,273 incidents. In 2022, that total surpassed 9,500.

The FAA puts forth in both regulation and public announcements that intentionally aiming lasers at aircraft poses a safety threat to pilots and violates federal law. “Many high-powered lasers can incapacitate pilots flying aircraft that may be carrying hundreds of passengers," the agency asserts—albeit to insufficient effect.

The FAA loudly trumpets its authority to issue fines of up to $11,000 per laser-related violation; yet in 2021 the agency levied a scant $120,000 in such fines—a sum that represents less than 0.12% of the $102,003,000 that might have been collected had every reported laser-crime perpetrator been arraigned.

To combat the growing threat of endemic stupidity, Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen recently wrote a letter requesting laser manufacturers add warning labels to their packaging for purpose of alerting especially dim consumers—such as the unidentified Virginian 25-year-old—of the safety risks inherent, and the federal laws applicable to laser devices.

Acting Administrator Nolen wrote in part:

“Lasers may seem like just a toy, office tool, or game for most, but they can incapacitate pilots putting thousands of passengers at risk every year. We need your help to combat this serious issue. … Pointing a laser at an aircraft threatens pilots, and it is a federal crime. U.S. law enforcement agencies and the Federal Aviation Administration may seek criminal and civil prosecution against violators. Don’t shine this laser at aircraft.” 

FMI: www.laserpointersafety.com