2021 Sees another Bump in Dangerous High-Powered Laser Contact

Dangerous laser strikes once again continue to rise, beating all previous year-end records at the end of 2021.

The FAA received nearly 10,000 reports from pilots last year, a 41% increase. The sale of high output laser devices have continued to increase among whiz-bang word of mouth online, probably not helped by the large print warning buyers not to point them at aircraft. Overall, 244 injuries have accumulated since the start of tracking in 2010, a number that is suspected of being fairly underrepresented. 

Penalties for lasing aircraft can reach up to $11,000 per violation with up to $30,800 for multiple laser incidents. The FAA issued nearly $120,000 in fines last year, a relatively small number when considering the overall number of reports. Triangulating, identifying, and catching laser culprits is difficult work owing to their brief sniping. Often, multiple aircraft over a span of time must report the event for patrols on the ground to locate the operator, which just as often remain tucked away safely ensconced in cover from easy law enforcement identification. 

So far, the FAA's visualization tools have not undergone efforts to identify the extent of underreporting, leaving the accuracy of reports in total somewhat in question. In an industry where health status is paramount, and long term incapacitation can quickly result in longstanding troubles retaining their earning capability. Lasers, being the result of external forces, may boast a higher rate of accuracy in reporting, since pilots do not make contact through fault of their own. Older rule-of-thumb studies once described the overall rate of safety incident reporting as the "iceberg model", where each single incident resulting in serious injury was accompanied by 600 near-hits that went entirely unreported.

The general aviation fleet and its frequent use of smaller, regional airports is a larger unknown in terms of reporting, as operators lack the framework for company support, procedures, or training to identify and report laser strikes in a timely fashion. When combining the frequent colocation of small GA airports and suburban housing in the vicinity, the recipe could very well make laser events both more probable, and their corresponding reporting less likely. 

“The FAA continues to educate the public about the hazards of laser strikes because they pose such a serious threat to the safety of the pilot, the passengers and everyone in the vicinity of the aircraft,” said FAA Administrator Steve Dickson.

FMI: www.faa.gov