The laser attacks caused a major distraction in the cockpit.
In the United States, a man in Minnesota was sentenced to two years in prison earlier this month for pointing a laser at a Delta Air Lines jet. Independent, The incident occurred in 2021 and disrupted the pilot’s attempts to land and placed the passengers in “incredible danger”.
According to the outlet, the laser was pointed at the plane by James Link, 43, who pleaded guilty this year.
On October 29, 2021, pilots on a Delta Air Lines flight from Raleigh-Durham to Minneapolis were reported to have suffered laser injuries three times. He claimed to have seen a blue laser illuminate the cockpit while he was flying at 9,000 feet west of River Falls, Wisconsin. Air traffic control ordered them to change runways, so they had to make a new approach to the Minneapolis airport at that point.
“The laser attacks caused a major distraction in the cockpit as they were not able to see their iPads,” prosecutors said in a statement. statement, Eventually, according to the statement, the pilots were able to choose a new course and land safely.
Prosecutors further stated, “The first officer did not experience any interference with his vision, but the captain stated that his vision in his right eye was affected for several hours following the incident.”
A Minnesota state patrol plane was requested by air traffic control to investigate the incident, but when it hovered over River Falls that same night, its pilots were also hit by a blue laser.
“Using the aircraft’s surveillance equipment, they were able to identify the suspect, coordinate with local law enforcement, and maintain a visual on the defendant,” prosecutors said, according to the statement. Officers approached the defendant and “found a blue laser on his person”.
Mr Link claimed he was aiming a laser at a drone, and did not believe it was an aircraft as the object was very motionless. He then pointed a laser at the Minnesota State Patrol aircraft.
In a statement to the court the flight captain commented on the “sheer brightness” of the laser and compared it to “suddenly turning on all the airplane lights in a dark room” when they were in a critical phase of flight operations.
“A small mistake during this critical stage could have had disastrous consequences”, the captain informed the court. According to US District Judge William M. Conley, the act of pointing the laser at the aircraft was “incredibly dangerous and reckless” and “put everyone in incredible danger”.