Coming into land at Bristol the other night my plane was about 5 miles from touch down and still quite high, but when I looked down out of the window at the houses I became aware some 'person' in housing estate far below was tracking the plane with a laser, and finally they found it. Before I could look away the laser caught me about 3 times. Should I report it to the police?

Do you remember which house the laser came from?

Maybe mention it to the relevant airport security? I doubt they'll do much but they might be able to put an eye on it, not sure what the worst case is?

Just be thankful the missile didn't get target lock on you…;0)

We were too high to see which house it came from, but to begin with you could see the beam swirling around trying to focus in on the plane, then it flashed through the window, at that stage I looked away. But when I looked back you could see the beam still trying to follow the plane. What an arse!

I'd say yes.
or you could attache one of these!
When the scrotes laser you just release it it should follow the beam and deal with the problem. 8)

The word on the street has it that South Bristol has strong Al Qaeda activity

Report it to MI6 now.

funnily enough, when I searched for that image on google I found it from a 7 month old stw thread

I was doing night circuits at 'Newquay International' last summer when some bozo from Trevelgue campsite lazed me.

I gave quick shout to ATC stating exactly where the dude was and which campsite (camped there many a time!); next time I flew over (about 4 minutes) the whole area was lit up with blue flashing lights!! No doubt the poor teenager had a bit of a shock explaining his special brew and spliffs to the local rozzers.

Been lazed by an industrial laser before. That WASN'T nice!

More likely bleedin chavs than Al Quaeda, if you saw it did the pilot I wonder? Is it a regular approach to Bristol problem.

Certainly a spreading one, 737 incidents last year according to this report

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-10795767

And this guy looks likely to be jailed for it:

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/192873-fruit-picker-endangered-fighter-jet-by-shining-laser-into-pilots-eyes/

You were probably over AnalogueAndy's house at the time. It was him 🙂

llama – Member
You were probably over AnalogueAndy's house at the time. It was him

Tis true I live on the flight path into Bristol, am not a big fan of their planned expansion, but I have you know I definitely don't live 'in an estate' 🙂

[/Runs outside to see if his Exposure will reach in the sky to light up the next bloody noisy Easyjet from Poland]

Have been lasered once on approach (I fly the A320) and it's not a nice experience. I used to think it was virtually impossible to hit an aircraft from a distance, but I got full in the eye with a green laser and it took about 30 seconds to get my night vision back.

Like mikertroid said, the police are incredibly fast at responding, though these scroats didn't help their cause by also lasering the police helicopter… 😉

I became aware some 'person' in housing estate

You sure it wasn't a frickin' dolphin?

but to begin with you could see the beam swirling around trying to focus in on the plane

That powerful a laser was it? 🙄

Urban Myth no. 3,427,689,518.

You sure it wasn't a frickin' dolphin?

Or maybe a Sea Bass?

Tis true I live on the flight path into Bristol, am not a big fan of their planned expansion, but I have you know I definitely don't live 'in an estate'

Bl00dy middle class NIMBYs ruining a perfectly good expansion plan!

Elfinsafety – Member

That powerful a laser was it?

You seen a green laser in use? I have and yes, you can see the beam.

Do pilots normally 'land' a plane or or does the pooter take over?

elfinsafety,

an industrial laser is in a different league to the poxy red pointers. You'll see the source if its pointing anywhere in your vicinity.

couple of lads had those green pointers at farmer john's dh race weekend last night and you could clearly see the beams as they struck any dust and moisture droplets in the atmosphere.
one of them was trying to hit planes coming in to land at manchester too, the ****t.

A friend of a friend got home pissed earlier this year and decided it would be fun to shine a laser pointer at a police helicopter hovering overhead (forethought evidently isn't his strong point). Needlees to say very few minutes passed before the police kicked his front door in 🙂
He got 6 weeks in prison and is currently wearing one of those security tags.

Mugboo – 99.9% of the time the pilots land. Letting the computer do it increases work load because the airport has to protect the localiser and glideslope transmitters, and switch over to diesel generators – something they usually only do in low visibility conditions.

I've seen one autoland in the last six months, and that was in good conditions for training purposes.

So if I was to see someone pointing a laser at a plane it is my duty to do what I can to stop it I suppose? What sort of force is OK? Or should I just ask politely?

Just seen that two donuts have been nicked in Cambridge for lasering an aircraft
Seems that the old bill make every effort to apprehend these fools very quickly and no doubt its quite a serious offence to be charged with

TooTall – Member

Tis true I live on the flight path into Bristol, am not a big fan of their planned expansion, but I have you know I definitely don't live 'in an estate'

Bl00dy middle class NIMBYs ruining a perfectly good expansion plan!

Too right 8)

Appropriate to this thread work I'm about to start on this

I'd be very surprised if terrorism legislation isn't thrown at anyone shining a laser pen at a plane. It seems to be applied to umpteen rather less threatening situations, so I can't see why it wouldn't be used for this.

It's a shame we're likely going to see heavier restrictions on ownership of these devices in future because of a small percentage of total idiots who aren't capable of thinking before they act. I do a bit of amateur astronomy, and own a reasonably bright green laser because they're perfect for pointing out celestial objects (a visible beam is a necessity for this).

I would never point it at an aircraft, or anything that would unpredictably reflect/refract the beam, or in any way that might send it towards a persons eyes. They're just so cheap and easy to obtain these days that people think of them as totally innocuous, and never consider that a person could be blinded or even killed due to their stupid actions.

i am struggling to see how this can bring a plane down!! If it can why isn`t there a bunch of terrorists at every airport trying this out.It would be way easier than trying to get something on board nowadays

i am struggling to see how this can bring a plane down!

Have a look at this

http://www.pangolin.com/faa/laser-aircraft-animation-and-explanation.htm

It certainly endangers life.

and never consider that a person could be blinded or even killed

is it like the really strong ones in the movies that all the baddies have to cut the goodies in half?

In Paris too.

So how does/can it bring a plane down? Does it interfere with navigation systems or is it what it does to the pilots' vision when it hits the cockpit?

From 1 January a law was brought in which allowed offenders to be charged for shining the light which dazzles the pilot.

The laser, which distracts or could even temporarily blind a pilot, is a serious safety risk, especially during take-off and landing of aircrafts, the CAA said.

You really couldn't work that out for yourself?

Pfft. At worst a laser can temporarily dazzle a pilot. Bearing in mind the co-pilot is there with dual controls ready to take over, the actual risk of danger is tiny. Someone would need to have an incredibly steady hand to be able to aim it at a moving plane some distance away and keep the beam trained on a specific spot for more than a tiny fraction of a second. Plus, consider the angles; a person would need to be quite high up in order to be able to aim the beam straight into the cockpit.

You'd need a fairly powerful (and expensive) laser to do any 'damage'. Think about it: The sun is far, far more powerful than any laser, and looking straight at the sun for a split second won't permanently damage your eyesight.

I appreciate that shining laser beams at people is potentially dangerous, and I would imagine there may well have been road accidents as a result of malicious use, but as for bringing 'planes down, well, it's just more reactionary paranoid bollocks. Like not being able to take a bottle of drink on board a 'plane. FFS.

A Sea Bass with a sharp knife is more dangerous.

You really couldn't work that out for yourself?

Wow, that really told me.

Had the same thing happen last month. Landing at Liverpool,easyjet flight from Geneva, last flight in on a Sunday night, & some scouse ****t was lighting up the 'plane with a green laser…**** bright it was too.
Probably bought nicked it from Poundland..

Hmmmm are you realy a pilot ? if so standards have dropped ,why are you asking on a mtb forum?

Fred you are in cloud cookoo land to be honest an aeroplane is not the same as a bike or even a bus or a car if this needs to be explained you realy arnt the sharpest tool in the box,you need to think before you post.

if this needs to be explained you realy arnt the sharpest tool in the box,you need to think before you post

Uh? That's too compulcated for me.

How many pilots have been blinded by lasers? How many 'planes have crashed as a result?

as you are having difficulty thinking beyond your normal enviroment i will spell out a few points you may not be aware of

1: aircraft need both pilots to be fully on form when completing the most dangerous part of flying ie landing

2:why? well it is quite busy in the cockpit prior to landing there are lots of things to monitor ,mainly height,speed,attitude,rate of desent, heading,remaining fuel,talking to air traffic and lastly comunicating with the punters in the back.

3: If there are any doubts they have to over shoot and get in the queue to land whilst working out how much fuel is left and where the diversion landing is and if it is available.

4:So having some muppet shining a laser at an aeroplane with 200 plus people is a serious offence and is dealt with accordingly by the courts.

Aeroplanes may be just another method of transport but to run safely they are complicated animals as many people have found out to their cost.

How many pilots have been blinded by lasers? How many 'planes have crashed as a result?

None, so far. Honestly, d'you really think this sort of moronic, irresponsible behaviour can be allowed to carry on unchecked, just because, up to now, there has been no serious accident caused by a 100-200mW laser hitting aircrew in the eyes at a crucial point in final approach over a heavily built up area? Jeezus!