Blinded by the beam: pilots in line of fire as planes targeted by laser pointers
Published Wednesday November 12th, 2008
MONTREAL - Canadian pilots are calling for better labelling on laser pointers and tougher penalties for those caught beaming the blinding lights at airplanes after incidents across the country more than doubled over the last year.
According to Transport Canada, there have already been 56 occurrences this year compared with 21 in 2007. The department has recorded a total of 83 since 2005.
"The increase in the number of laser events that are occurring in Canada and around the world are alarming to us," said Capt. Barry Wiszniowski of the Air Canada Pilots Association.
"The laser events that are occurring are probably one of the greatest safety concerns that we have right now as a profession."
The blinding light that lasers emit can stun pilots during the critical periods of takeoff and landing.
Shining them into a dim cockpit at night is like quickly turning a light on and off in a dark room, Wiszniowski said, noting it can make it difficult for pilots to distinguish between the different coloured lights on a runway which are used for navigation.
He said troublemakers appear to favour the newer green laser pointers which have a range of more than 3,000 metres and are considered more dangerous than the more common red pointers seen in boardrooms and often associated with the tormenting of house cats.
"Green ones are the ones that are of a greater risk to aviation safety," he said. "Not only are you putting pilots in jeopardy, but also the travelling public."
Transport Canada spokeswoman Kirsten Goodnough said there have been no accidents resulting from laser pointers in Canada.
Pilots also fear the practice could cause permanent eye damage that may hinder their careers, although Health Canada has assured that "no permanent eye damage to pilots has been caused by laser pointers," to date.
Health Canada said damage to the retina from laser pointers is actually "fairly low" and compares the "temporary blindness" pilots have experienced to being "blinded by the flash of a camera."
"The pigments in the eye become less sensitive for a few seconds before readapting to the light in their surroundings," department officials said in an email.
Health Canada said it's up to the provinces and territories to regulate the use of laser products and that the only federal regulation for laser pointers is that manufacturers comply with the Radiation Emitting Devices Act.
Such incidents have, however, prompted a number of pilots to seek medical attention including one WestJet pilot who was taken to hospital in Kelowna, B.C., last month following a laser incident during a flight from Calgary.
So far just one person has been charged under the federal Aeronautics Act for attempting to blind a pilot with a laser.
The penalty if convicted can be as high as a fine of $100,000 and five years in prison, but David Mackow of Calgary was fined $1,000 last spring after pleading guilty the previous fall.
Wiszniowski said the industry is calling on laser manufacturers to develop labelling that will contain warnings similar to those on tobacco products.
He is also encouraging the courts to issue stiffer penalties to offenders.
But that, of course, hinges on cases making it to court.
In April, neither the prosecutor nor the defence lawyer in the Mackow case could cite any examples in Canada in which someone used a laser pointer to distract a pilot in flight.
Police in Montreal, where 11 such incidents have occurred in the last year, said there are currently no open cases while officers in Ottawa suggested they weren't aware of any laser incidents.
Peel police, which is responsible for patrolling Toronto's Pearson airport, couldn't say whether there'd been any arrests, but Const. J.P. Valade said the department works closely with aviation authorities to track down perpetrators.
He said flight crews that encounter a laser will immediately contact air traffic control which will activate a transponder that can identify the longitude and latitude of the incident.
Peel police will be notified and dispatched to investigate but Valade said matters can be complicated by the fact that incidents will often occur outside Peel's jurisdiction and require liaising with authorities in nearby Toronto, York or even Halton region.
Mischief and assault are among the criminal charges that could be laid, he said, adding it all hinders on intent.
"With any criminal offence you have to prove there was intent to commit the offence or be able to prove ... that the person's actions were so reckless that they knew a likely outcome of their actions would be... a criminal offence," he said.
For some of the recent cases in Montreal, for example, it's been suggested that the blinding light seen by several pilots was actually part of an advertisement campaign by a local company that didn't realize it needed authorization for such a display.
Dr. Todd Macuda, a scientist and chief technical officer with Gladstone Aerospace Consulting in Ottawa, has been researching cases involving lasers and pilots for three years.
He said efforts are underway to develop protective devices for pilots and that research into the effects of lasers on the eye and flight performance are ongoing.
He suggested it's a recent problem that could be the result of the proliferation of laser pointers or a lack of knowledge on the part of the public who may not be aware of the risks they pose.
"(We) need to educate the pubilc about the importance of using laser pointers safely," he said. "They are a hazard when handled incorrectly."
According to Transport Canada, there have been 14 incidents in Quebec in the last year, most of them at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. That's compared with six the previous year.
There have been 20 so far this year in Ontario, compared with eight in 2007; 10 in British Columbia, up from one last year; and eight this year in Alberta, compared with five.
Manitoba recorded two incidents this year, its first ever cases, while Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan each recorded one.
Goodnough suggested the rise could be the result of increased reporting as Transport Canada has been making a concerted effort to remind pilots that it's their duty to report laser incidents.
More information about such incidents may have also led to "copy cats," she said.
Transport Canada is working with police, industry and government partners to address the issue.
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