What kind of bellend points a laser at a plane?

[annandale]

Lots of them, apparently

The BBC showed a table from the Civil Aviation Authority - nearly 50 incidents in six months, at Heathrow alone!

Are these all 13 year olds, or adults with a ridiculous amount of time on their hands?

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

Sooner or later, this will cause a crash with major loss of life in the plane and on the ground. Will these idiots care?

Dh is flying out of London tonight, and I am stressing about this.

[alltouchedout]

9 year olds, probably. Mine did not understand my recent great fury when u caught him pointing a laser pen thingy St traffic.

[specialsubject]

what is a 9 year old, or indeed anyone, doing with a laser pen?

take it away and destroy it.

[PerspicaciaTick]

Presumably the same sort of person who was shining a laser pen in a classmates eyes during a lesson (as mentioned on another thread).

Why does anyone need a laser pen?

[alltouchedout]

I have done exactly that :)
Apparently he got it from the imperial war museum gift shop. I have no memory of buying it but to be fair last time we visited ds3 was about 4 months old and I was fairly out of it.
I do wonder why these things are sold is there a good reason for them? They just seem dangerous to me.

[annandale]

I see that the pilots' union (I think) is calling for the things to be banned/controlled in some way. I can see why.

I just would love to listen to an interview of some kind with someone who has done this, I find it so strange. Presumably it would be along the lines of 'seemed like it would be a laugh'. God.

[DickDewy]

They can't be just any old laser, can they?

I'm thinking they're a bit more powerful than for example, my dogs favourite toy - his laser pointer. I haven't tried but I'm doubting it would reach the cockpit of a 747.

[originalmavis]

I suppose a quick look on Amazon will find a load of miatary grade ones. Why would anyone need one anyway? I hope they catch the buggers.

[Tanith]

Those caught so far appear to be young men in the late teens/early 20s. It seems the FA are having a real problem with lasers shone in footballers' eyes.

One of those prosecuted claimed he hadn't understood the potential consequences of his actions, so I think it's likely that the usual reason is behind it: bored young idiots showing off to their mates and not thinking through their actions.

[BarbarianMum]

Are these the type of laser pointer things you use in presentations? Must admit I'd no idea they were so powerful! Having said which, the idiots that point them at planes must realise or why would they bother?

I think this should be a really serous criminal offense and treated as such by the police but I doubt it will be, until someone succeeds in bringing down a plane.

[annandale]

He hadn't understood the consequences of his actions?? He should be asked what he thought would happen and if the answer was nothing, then to try and explain why the fuck he'd done it.

I hope that every time someone shines a laser in a footballer's eye, the game is stopped, the game is awarded on a coin toss and the goal difference on the draw of a card.

[lavendersun]

DH is a BALPA member, says historically it has been young people who don't understand that what they are doing could have serious consequences. Guess the high profile reporting will mean that that excuse can't be used much in the future.

[WhoWants2Know]

The BBC article reported that people play "tag" and try to hit the fuselage of the plane with the lasers. Most of the kind you can buy for your pets are at a much lower wattage, although I still wouldn't recommend pointing them directly at your eye.

[lavendersun]

The police take it very seriously Babarian, pilots call it in and police respond as an emergency.

[BarbarianMum]

Yes but, as the policeman on the radio this morning explained, responding as an emergency is jack shit use as you can't work out who's doing it from the ground - the only way to catch people is to lie in wait (high vantage points and triangulate back) and they don't have the resources to do that given the area they need to cover. I guess its not that they don't think it's serious, more that I fear serious resources won't be put into combating it until there's an accident.

[lavendersun]

Some aircraft systems are sophisticated enough to pinpoint a street, allowing a much better chance of catching whoever thinks pointing a laser is a hoot.

[Destinysdaughter]

I don't understand what are these laser pens supposed to be for? ( of they're not the ones for cats or used in teaching ) I can't see the use of them.

[hiddenhome2]

We use one for the cat, but I don't know how powerful it is.

Ds1 has just flown out of Heathrow and it's fucking worrying

It's happening in the US as well.

[Hamiltoes]

They'd get a bloody fright if they pointed it at a military plane and the anti laser guided missile defences kicked in.

I'm sure a police car shined a speed gun laser type thing at a fighter jet (probably a wonder how fast this is going..? type thing) and the pilot literally had seconds to disengage the counter measures!

[BarbaraofSeville]

Laser pointers sold for presentations and toys sold at museum gift shops are nothing to worry about.

The laser is very low powered and people are protected from harm as they will instinctively blink and turn away if it gets in their eyes. Obviously no-one should ever try to stare at the beam or shine it an animals eyes.

The very powerful green lasers that idiots have been shining at planes are a worry. They are extremely dangerous and can dazzle pilots flying planes in the air. If they shine in people's eyes close up they could cause permanent damage to the eyes or skin and can cause fires too.

It is very worrying that members of the public can get hold of this stuff, but the problem is that they are easily available and relatively affordable on the internet.

[IguanaTail]

The laser lights aren't the problem. It's the dicks who use them.

[PippaHotamus]

Bit concerning the type being used yes, something that can target an aircraft at FL080 is pretty powerful.

It's a matter of time before some wanker with one of these toys brings down a commercial jet.

[PippaHotamus]

There's a tower block somewhere in Glasgow I think known colloquially as l@ser heights due to the sheer number of incidents emanating from it.

They really are a bunch of losers.

[fivefootsix]

Quite a useful tool if you'e a terrorist, one would imagine.

[BarbaraofSeville]

The powerful green lasers are available on ebay, posted from China, for less than a tenner.

They are mislabelled as 1 mW in an attempt to bypass safety rules (this is the upper power limit as to what should be available to members of the public). In reality they are often 50-100 times more powerful and can be dangerous over a distance of several miles.

They could be legitmately used for science experiments or by amateur astronomers, who would do responsible things like carry out risk assessments, use safety equipment and avoid flight paths.