Photo: U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer this week called on the FDA to ban the sale of high-powered laser pointers. Photo Courtesy of NYPD.
Following the recent arrest of a Bronx man who allegedly pointed a high-powered laser at multiple aircraft attempting to land and take off from LaGuardia Airport, injuring four pilots, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) last Sunday called on the Food and Drug Administration to ban the sale of the most dangerous, long-range green laser pointers.
Schumer, citing health and aviation experts, said that the green versions are especially dangerous because they are more than double the strength of other colored lasers, can travel for miles, and can lead to temporary blindness, disorientation and distraction if it hits a pilot’s eyes.
“Aviation and medical experts, as well as the FDA themselves, have noted concern over high-powered, long-range green lasers in particular, and there’s simply no good reason for these to be legal and available online, given the huge risk they pose,” Schumer said. “In up to 90 percent of the laser-pointer incidents that pilots reported last year at New York area airports, green lasers were the weapon of choice; I am calling on the FDA to use their authority to ban green laser pointers, which pose serious risk to pilots and air travelers whose lives are literally in their hands.”
In 2014, pilots at John F. Kennedy International Airport reported 17 green laser incidents. LaGuardia pilots reported 27 green incidents over the same 12-month period.
The FDA, Schumer noted, has the authority to regulate lasers and their manufacturers, and he urged the agency to move forward with a plan to stop the sale of green laser pointers to the public without a highly specific and strict professional license. He also asked the FDA to target manufacturers that are attempting to sell green lasers in the United States, in order to alleviate the recent surge of incidents targeting aircrafts and pilots.
“Pointing lasers at aircraft in flight, especially when it is close to the ground during takeoff and landing, can cause temporary blindness, incapacitation, and even permanently damage a pilot’s eyes,” said Capt. Tim Canoll, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l. “ALPA will continue our efforts and work alongside Sen. Schumer, law enforcement, the airline industry, and others to raise awareness and reduce occurrences of this federal crime.”
Earlier this month, a 36-year-old Bronx man was nabbed by city cops after allegedly pointing a laser at LaGuardia aircraft in two separate incidents, injuring an Air Canada pilot and two NYPD Aviation Unit officers that were operating a helicopter and canvassing the area around the airport for the source of the laser.
By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
