Lasers are wonderful tools used for a variety of purposes, but at the same time it is a potentially dangerous tool especially in the wrong hands. There have been instances in which people think it’s funny to shine lasers into the eyes of drivers and athletes which is not only disruptive, but could prove to be dangerous as accidents could happen and people can become blind.Now it seems that over in New Jersey, there has been a spate of laser “attacks” in which in a single night alone, there have been as many as 12 different flights reporting that they have experienced lasers that were being beamed into the cockpits of airplanes. Like we said this might seem funny, but it could be potentially dangerous.
According to a report on CNET, the FAA claims that on Wednesday night, 11 commercial flights and one US Coast Guard aircraft was affected by these “attacks”. Thankfully nothing went wrong and there were no accidents, but in a statement provided by the FAA, “The events occurred between 9 and 10:30 p.m. There were no injuries reported. The FAA will investigate.”
The incident happened when the planes were at heights of 3,000 to 9,000 feet. As many as five flights had to be diverted. Whoever is caught doing such activities could be punished by up to 5 years in jail.