Federal Agents Witnessed Beam From Man's Home

The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested a man Tuesday, after agents saw a laser beam from his house shining on aircraft flying over the area.

Clinton Udet Pinckert, 47, was arrested at his home in Clint, TX -- about 20 miles southeast of El Paso. He stands accused of attempting to disable a commercial aircraft, and faces up to 20 years in prison if he's convicted, according to the Associated Press.

The arrest is the result of an investigation by the FBI into recent complaints of at least four commercial aircraft reporting laser beams being shined on them, according to FBI agent Andrea Simmons.

One of the flights was landing in El Paso and the others were at more than 34,000 feet, she said. "The laser was being shined at the aircraft in the cockpit," said Simmons. "It's such a powerful laser that it's a great concern."

Agents were able to narrow down the area the laser originated from, with a little help from the Federal Aviation Administration. Agents were able to actually view the beam and pinpoint its origin.

This type of activity seems to be on the rise. As ANN has reported, similar incidents were reported around Daytona Beach International Airport earlier this month, at Boston Logan International Airport in July, around Tulsa, OK in June... the list goes on.

And, it doesn't matter if you are a terrorist or a prankster -- if you shine laser pointers at airplanes, you could be facing prison time.

Under legislation approved in May by the House of Representatives, the use of cheap, handheld laser pens "presents an imminent threat to aviation security and passenger safety," said House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) before the voice vote to approve the measure, according to the Associated Press.

The National Transportation Safety Board has documented cases where pilots sustained actual injury to their eyes and were incapacitated during critical phases of a flight.

The device used in the West Texas case, which was seized during the arrest, is roughly the size of a flashlight and is readily available to the public, according to Simmons.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.faa.gov, www.fbi.gov