Laser strikes against airplanes now an “epidemic,” says FBI
Nate Anderson, Ars Technica:
You may not be the kind of person who gets his kicks by standing at the end of a runway and firing a small laser into the cockpit of jets during their takeoffs and landings—but plenty of other people are. In 2005, the FBI only heard about 283 such incidents; this year, it expects to record 3,700.
In an official blog post about the topic, the FBI quotes federal air marshal George Johnson saying that the laser attacks have reached an “epidemic level.” Things have gotten so bad that the FBI has created a special group to address the issue, one with the unwieldy name “Laser Strike Working Group National Initiative” (which could use a laser strike of its own).
Some things about this story:
- 3,700 in one year. Wow. I knew about this awful thing before, but that is beyond awful. Who does this?
- LASER STRIKE WORKING GROUP NATIONAL INITIATIVE
- The story also includes a video released by the FBI of a guy shining a green laser at a helicopter. The helicopter crew proceeds to track the guy and give directions to police, who arrest him. It’s pretty great.