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Scotland: Laser forces medical helicopter to take patient to hospital further away

A medical helicopter transporting a sick child was trying to land at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh on July 25 2021 when it was illuminated by a laser pen. The landing attempt was broken off. Instead, the helicopter went 9 air miles to Edinburgh Airport where the child was put into an ambulance and taken 14 miles by road back to the Royal Infirmary.

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said "This was an incredibly reckless action that could have endangered the patient and crew, and Police Scotland are investigating."

As of August 11 2021, no perpetrator had been identified.

From The Scotsman and the Daily Record

UK: Virgin Atlantic flight turns back after laser strike

According to Virgin Atlantic airlines:

"On 15 March 2021 flight VS453, operating from London Heathrow to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport, returned to Heathrow after take-off due to a laser beam incident upon departure.

The safety and security of our people and our customers is paramount and this was a precautionary step taken by the operating crew.

We'd like to thank our customers for their patience and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

All customers were offered overnight accommodation and we are working hard to ensure they are able to continue their journeys as soon as possible.

As is standard procedure for a laser incident, we swiftly notified the police and remain in close contact with them and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)."


The Boeing Dreamliner B789 aircraft took off from Heathrow at 9:34 pm GMT. At about 10:00 pm, while flying at an altitude of 41,000 ft, it began a U-turn southwest of Paris. The flight landed back at Heathrow at 10:47 pm.


2021-03-15 Virgin Atlantic 453 Heathrow 01 before turn 50pct
Approximately 10:00 pm the aircraft begins its U-turn

2021-03-15 Virgin Atlantic 453 Heathrow 02 after turn 50pct
A few minutes later, it is on its way back to Heathrow…

2021-03-15 Virgin Atlantic 453 Heathrow 03 on approach 50pct
… landing at 10:47 pm.

According to the Aviation Herald, the pilot was climbing out of Heathrow when the captain was illuminated by a laser beam. His or her condition worsened, with vision in only one eye, so the crew decided to turn back. They declared a "pan-pan", which is an urgent situation not posing an immediate danger. (This call is one level down from a "mayday", meaning imminent danger to life or the aircraft.)

The Aviation Herald also cited an Israeli media report that the laser perpetrator had been arrested.

From the
Aviation Herald and the Daily Mail. Graphics from FlightAware.com

COMMENTARY BY LASERPOINTERSAFETY.COM

This is the second time we are aware of that a commercial flight has turned back after having laser light from the ground interfere with the crew. On February 14 2016, a Virgin Atlantic flight from Heathrow to New York was illuminated by green laser light 6 miles west of London while flying at 8,000 feet. That flight continued for a while but then turned back over Ireland due to the first officer having vision problems. A story with links is here.

We have also reported on a few other times that aircraft have changed course, or the many times that police or other public service flights have had a mission interrupted, because of laser interference.

UK: Air ambulance helicopter aborts landing after laser pen exposure

A Wiltshire Air Ambulance helicopter on a February 20 2020 training flight aborted a landing after a laser attack. The pilot and two paramedics were attempting to land at a school in Chippenham, Wiltshire (85 miles west of London) when the illumination occurred.

A spokesperson for the air ambulance charity said "This was clearly very risky for the guys up there. Fortunately, the were not on an emergency mission but clearly it is a very serious incident."

Police were searching for the perpetrator.

From the Swindon Advertiser

US: Texas man pleads guilty to aiming laser at Border Patrol helicopter

Juan Peralez, 57, of La Joya Texas pleaded guilty on September 2 2016 to aiming a laser pointer at a Border Patrol Helicopter.

The incident occurred on June 20 2016, when the helicopter pilot had to take evasive action to avoid the green beam. Another crew member guided ground officers to the laser perpetrator, where Peralez was arrested.

Juan Peralez laser
Juan Peralez


He will be sentenced November 17 to up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

From KLTV and the Gwinnett Daily Post

UK: Cessna pilot makes emergency landing after being hit by laser after takeoff

An instructor for the Cambridge Aero Club, flying a single-engine Cessna 172, made an emergency landing after being flashblinded by a laser beam after takeoff. The February 16 2016 incident occurred around 6:30 pm local time near St Neots, about 20 miles from the club’s base at Cambridge Airport.

The instructor was not injured. There was no information available whether there was anyone else in the aircraft at the time.

The incident is being classified as “endangering an aircraft," and police are investigating.

From the Daily Mail

UK: UPDATED - Flight returns to airport after pilot gets laser in eyes, reports medical emergency

A Virgin Atlantic flight from London to New York on February 14 2016 was illuminated by a laser shortly after takeoff from Heathrow Airport, around 9:30 pm local time. The Airbus A340 continued but then turned back after crossing Ireland. The pilot declared a medical emergency, not threatening to life, due to the laser effects. On a recording of air traffic control communications, a person was heard to say “we have a medical issue with one of the pilots after a major incident … the other pilot is able to perform his duties.”

Virgin’s website stated that “Following this incident the first officer reported feeling unwell. The decision was taken by both pilots to return to Heathrow rather than continue the transatlantic crossing."

The airline said passengers would stay overnight and would then be able to fly to JFK Airport “as soon as possible”.

Police were attempting to find the laser source, said to be 6-7 miles from the airport. An article in the Daily Mail included a map showing the aircraft’s takeoff pattern, and the area where the laser beam was thought to have originated.

From the Telegraph, Daily Mail, BBC News and ITV. Audio recording from AirportWebcams.net.

UPDATED February 15 2016: The British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) called for “the Government to classify lasers as offensive weapons which would give the police more power to arrest people for possessing them if they had no good reason to have them.” From a statement on BALPA’s website, reprinted here.

UPDATED February 17 2017: A forum post claiming to be from the Virgin Atlantic pilot gave details about the incident. The person posted under the handle “scroggs”. He wrote: “I am the Captain in this event…. It was a red beam, not a green one. It was indeed reported as and when it happened. The pictures we got show its ground position (which wasn’t Legoland as far as I can see), and will hopefully help those in the know to estimate its power and provenance.”
      Scroggs continued: “As was reported in the news, the FO did receive retinal damage from what appeared to be a 'lucky' passing sweep, but it's not permanent and will heal fully. There was no visual impairment during the flight, but there was no way of knowing (for me) that that would continue to be the case. The symptoms were slow in making themselves apparent. That's about all I'm prepared to say for now.” From post #173 in a thread on PPRuNE.org about the incident.


Background commentary from LaserPointerSafety.com

After around 40,000 laser incidents reported to U.S. FAA and U.K. CAA from 2004 through 2015*, as of February 14 2016 this is the first occurrence we are aware of where a commercial aircraft has turned around and not completed its flight, due to a laser incident from the ground.

  • There have been a few instances where a flight has changed course, such as pilot doing a “go around” on landing because of laser light on the first attempt.
  • Some police and rescue operations have had their missions disrupted by a laser; this has been common for the U.S. Coast Guard which has operational rules requiring a mission to abort if there is laser illumination.
  • In 2013, there was an incident where an aircraft made an emergency diversion 224 miles short of its destination, because a passenger onboard was using a homemade laser to burn several small holes in fabric near his seat. This is the only other emergency diversion we are aware of due to laser misuse.

As of February 14 2016, there is no confirmed, documented case of permanent eye injury to a civilian pilot (commercial, general aviation, or police/rescue) due to exposure in the cockpit to laser light from the ground.

In a fall 2014 case, first publicly reported about a year later, a British Airways pilot illuminated by a laser on landing at Heathrow was treated at a Sheffield hospital for spots on his retina. The case was reported in a medical journal in January 2016 which said the area had healed within two weeks. An expert close to the case, who directly examined the journal paper and the evidence, told LaserPointerSafety.com in February that he does not believe the retinal injury was laser-induced, and that it was “not confirmed” as a laser injury “despite what the journal paper says.”

*29,097 laser incidents reported to U.S. FAA, Jan 1 2004 through Dec 31 2015; plus “more than 8,998 laser incidents” reported to U.K. CAA “between 2009 and June 2015.”

US: UPDATED - Texas man arrested for aiming at eight airliners and a police helicopter

A 23-year-old man from rural Alvarado, Texas was arrested July 22 2015 on suspicion of aiming a laser at eight commercial aircraft as well as a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) helicopter and a Fort Worth police helicopter.

Beginning at about 10 pm local time on July 21, until about 1 am on July 22, eight aircraft flying near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport reported seeing green laser light. These included flights from American Airlines, Envoy (formerly American Eagle), Southwest Airlines and FedEx. The aircraft were at altitudes between 7,000 and 10,000 feet when they reported seeing the laser light.

Air traffic controllers routed other aircraft around the area where the laser beams originated. A DPS helicopter sent to investigate was also targeted by the laser beam, which led deputies to a home in Alvarado, which is about 35 miles south-southwest of DFW.

The three persons in the home initially denied doing anything wrong. Once deputies said there was video from the helicopter, Austin Lawrence Siferd admitted pointing a laser at the aircraft, “not realizing it was actually strong enough to reach the aircraft,” said a law enforcement spokesperson.

The local NBC station quoted Siferd’s fiancée, Brenda Arnold, as saying she purchased the laser for him: “I think that he probably did think that they were just looking at the stars. I really don't think he meant anything intentional. I really don’t.”

Siferd was charged with illumination of an aircraft by an intense light, a misdemeanor. Bond was set at $300. More severe federal charges are pending.

Austin Lawrence Siferd laser
Austin Lawrence Siferd


According to a Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson, no one was injured by the laser light. She also said there had been 59 reported laser incidents in North Texas from January 1 to July 22, 2015.

From the Associated Press via the Washington Times, the Dallas Morning News and NBCDFW.com

UPDATED October 14 2016: Siferd was sentenced to six months in federal prison. He had pleaded guilty to a felony indictment in March 2016. From CBSDFW and the Star-Telegram.

US: Airplane flight patterns changed after Tampa man aims laser at landing aircraft

A 24-year-old Tampa man using a laser pointer hit four commercial aircraft on approach to Tampa International Airport on September 7 2014. Ahmed Maher Elhelw also illuminated a Tampa police helicopter that was investigating, hitting it four times within four minutes.

Ahmed Maher Elhelw laser
Ahmed Maher Elhelw


As a result of the laser strikes on the commercial aircraft, air traffic controllers rerouted “a handful” of flights. This is one of the first times that LaserPointerSafety.com is aware of commercial aircraft in the U.S. being redirected to avoid laser attacks.

A spokesperson for the Tampa airport was quoted as saying ““It’s really not a big deal for us to reroute flights at night. We do it all the time for different reasons. The passengers probably wouldn’t even know.”

Click to read more...

US: UPDATED - Passenger onboard aircraft arrested for burning holes in seat with homemade laser

On September 5 2013, a passenger onboard a Sun Country Airlines flight from Minneapolis to Seattle used two small, homemade lasers to burn several small holes in fabric near his seat. The crew did not see the holes but smelled the smoke. They feared that an electrical fire might be smoldering somewhere in the aircraft. An emergency diversion was made towards Spokane, 224 miles short of the original destination.

Fifteen minutes later, the 105 passengers and five crew members on the Boeing 737 landed in Spokane. Emergency services came on board and did not find any fire, heat or smoke but did find the burn holes.

Alex Philip Langloys Miller of Minneapolis was arrested by FBI agents and was charged with willful damage to an aircraft. He was released on $10,000 bond.

From the Telegraph, the Spokesman-Review and the Aviation Herald. A photo of the airplane involved, Sun Country Airlines registration number N716SY, is here.

UPDATED October 22 2013: The Island Guardian published more details about the incident. The smoke was first smelled by a passenger who had previously worked as a flight attendant. She notified a crew member. In looking for the source, they saw “a small bright blue light for a moment under one of the seats.” Another passenger thought they saw a person holding a laser between his legs. The suspicious person went to the restroom and returned. The plane made an emergency diversion to Spokane. After landing, a “greeting committee of police, airline officials and the FBI” found burn holes in the seat in front of the suspicious passenger, and found two lasers in the bathroom trash. From a September 13 2013 article in the Island Guardian.