WASHINGTON — The FBI is
investigating seven incidents of lasers apparently
being directed at planes that were preparing to land
at airports around the country over the last six
days, a federal official said Thursday.
"It could be anything," said the security official,
who spoke on condition of anonymity. "It could be
people got new toys for Christmas and they thought
it would be great to test them on airplanes — or
anything else."
Authorities are concerned about the incidents
because the intense lights can startle, distract,
disorient or even temporarily blind a pilot,
creating a safety risk. Pilots obviously rely
heavily on their eyesight to operate their aircraft
and keep their passengers and others out of harm's
way, federal officials noted.
Federal law enforcement officials have previously
expressed fears that terrorists could use lasers as
weapons, and last month the Department of Homeland
Security sent a bulletin to law enforcement offices
around the country about the risks of lasers, FBI
and Homeland Security Department officials said.
But Thursday, department spokeswoman Katy Mynster
said: "We have no specific information that these
incidents have any terrorism nexus at this time."
Authorities have received no threats or warnings
connected with the incidents, and they are unsure
what to make of them.
The latest incident took place Wednesday night in
Teterboro, N.J., just northwest of New York City,
and involved a business jet. Three incidents took
place Monday, two of them in Colorado Springs,
Colo., and a third in Cleveland. Three other
incidents took place on Christmas Day, one each in
Houston, Medford, Ore., and at Washington's Ronald
Reagan National Airport.
All of the flights landed safely.
Pilots described beams of green light being directed
at the cockpits. The lasers caused no reported
damage, either to pilots' eyesight or to any of the
aircraft, but they have caused temporary eye
injuries to pilots in the past.
It is against the law to intentionally shine a laser
at a commercial aircraft.
The recent incidents are the latest of several
hundred reports of cockpits being illuminated by
lasers in recent years, according to a Federal
Aviation Administration report issued in June.
"As long as these lasers have been commercially
available, this problem has been prevalent," an FBI
spokesperson said Thursday.
In most cases, when the FBI investigated incidents
of lasers being beamed at cockpits, the agency
learned that the incidents were accidental.
"Incidents have happened sporadically over time and
have for the most part been accidental," said an
official of the Department of Homeland Security who
spoke on condition of anonymity.
In recent years, laser devices of various strengths
have become affordable, and they are readily
available commercially to be used for a wide range
of purposes.
Stargazers, for instance, use lasers to direct
attention to particular stars or planets. Carpenters
use lasers to provide a straight line for hanging
kitchen cabinets or drywall. Lasers are also used in
handgun and rifle sights, supermarket scanners and a
variety of medical devices.
Laser light shows, which are routine at amusement
parks and shopping malls throughout the country, are
controlled and regulated by the Food and Drug
Administration, which consults with the Federal
Aviation Administration.
Regulations forbid shining the lights higher than
3,000 feet and require that laser light shows be
registered with local FAA offices.
No aviation accidents have been reported because of
the lasers, but there have been a large number of
incidents that have resulted in visual or
operational problems, according to the FAA report on
the issue.
On Oct. 30, 1995, the pilot of a Southwest Airlines
flight departing from McCarran International Airport
in Las Vegas reported that a laser beam sweeping
through the cockpit caused him to be temporarily
blinded.
The pilot could not focus or interpret any
instrument indications and was disoriented for
several minutes, so the other pilot in the cockpit
took control of the aircraft.
Commercial pilots have expressed concern about the
laser issue.
"It's not some kid," Paul Rancatore, a pilot who
serves as deputy chairman of the security committee
for the Allied Pilots Assn., told Associated Press.
"It's too organized."
The June FAA report concluded that "a laser attack
could be quickly deployed and withdrawn, leaving no
obvious collateral damage or projectile residue, and
would be difficult to detect and defend against."
"A sufficiently powerful laser could cause permanent
ocular damage, blinding crew members, and make a
successful landing virtually impossible," the report
said.
"The potential for an aviation accident definitely
exists," it continued.
"It's a low-tech way to cause crashes," Rancatore
said.
| FBI warns pilots to look away from unexpected light | |
As airlines gear up for a heavy travel holiday season, a new FBI threat assessment suggests terrorists may use military-grade laser blinding systems to down planes The Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning airline pilots to look immediately away from unexpected sources of light in a new alert that suggests terrorists may use military-grade laser blinding systems to down planes. As airlines gear up for a heavy travel holiday season, a new FBI threat assessment suggests terrorists may use military-grade laser blinding systems to down planes "Although lasers are not proven methods of attack like improvised explosive devices and hijackings, terrorist groups overseas have expressed an interest in using these devices against human sight," states a security bulletin issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. "Severe eye injuries can result when individuals are exposed to these devices… In certain circumstances, if laser weapons adversely affect the eyesight of both pilot and co-pilot during a non-instrument approach, there is a risk of an airliner crash." The bulletin, obtained by The Asian Pacific Post, is dated Nov. 22, 2004 and titled 'Potential Laser Threat'. It is understood that the FBI is investigating at least three recent lasing incidents in the United States. It, however, does not believe that the incidents are terrorist-related. The first was on Sept 22, 2004 where a beam of green light hit an aircraft approaching the Salt Lake City airport in Utah. The incident caused retina burns on a first officer who has been temporarily removed from flight status. The second occurred on November 7, 2004 at the San Diego Airport where three commercial airliners reported observing green lights coming from a direction northeast of the runway after departure. The third occurred two days later near Houston International Airport where flight crews on four aircraft observed a green laser light shining into the air near the Conroe, Texas area, about 25 miles northwest of the airport. The lasing incidents have prompted the U.S. Transportation Security Administration and the U.S. Missile and Space Intelligence Center to study what happens when a laser beam strikes the cockpit of a Boeing 727 aircraft. A security consultant who advises Canada-based airlines said he is aware of the bulletin but stressed that the intelligence community has no credible or specific threat regarding the use of lasers. "All airlines and the pilot community are aware of lasing and potential threats..the threat is listed as low," he said in a telephone interview from Toronto. "It is unfortunate that this is getting media attention during the peak holiday travel season," he added. The FBI said it has no indication that terrorist groups have obtained military-grade laser blinding systems or that such a potential weapon is available on the black market. However, American intelligence officers have been monitoring the production and exhibition of military-grade laser blinding systems in several countries. Chinese-made ZM-87 Laser Blinder that has been shown off at military exhibitions in Manila and Abu Dhabi One such laser weapon is the Chinese-produced ZM-87 laser blinder which is designed to blind optics such as night vision equipment and the human eye. It has been displayed at defence exhibitions in Manila and Abu Dhabi. The FBI also noted that that Japanese terrorist cult Aum Shinrikyo, which gained infamy for its 1995 Sarin gas attack on a Tokyo subway, had experimented with the use of lasers as weapons. Cult members apparently obtained laser design information from Russian institutes they visited and built a laser weapon mounted on a truck. They had planned to use the laser against Tokyo policemen but the plan failed when the laser malfunctioned during the testing stage. The FBI states that terrorists with access to substantial financial resources are more likely to obtain laser hardware from commercial off-the-shelf industrial sources rather than military sources. "These devices are used in medical, industrial and educational facilities and are more susceptible to theft. The commercial off-the-shelf lasers are not designed for use as weapons, but they can be easily modified for such purposes." Providing a conceptual terrorist attack using a laser system, the FBI said that a small lightweight laser system could be hidden indoors or outside with relative ease until and during the time of an attack. "For example, a terrorist/criminal could be perched on an elevated platform and target pedestrians below at will… Of greater concern would be a laser system used to target drivers hauling hazardous materials or fuel tankers," said the FBI, which estimated that such a weapons system could be put together for about US$50,000. Exposure to laser light can produce an effect known as flash blindness, which leads to temporary loss of vision, disorientation and discomfort. Serious eye injuries can occur when the light is so intense that the retina is perforated resulting in hemorrhage. The human eye is most sensitive to green light and lasers which emit light in the green wavelength is thought to be the most effective for Sept 22,"blinding applications". In addition to advising pilots to look immediately away from unexpected sources of light, the FBI is also recommending that airlines consider installing laser warning devices on their planes and that more explicit warnings be attached to commercially available lasers, including the small hand-held ones used for briefings. One of the most high-profile cases involving the use of a laser on an aircraft occurred on April 4, 1997 off the coast of British Columbia. Lt. Cmdr. Jack Daly hit by laser beam from a Russian ship off B.C. In the incident former U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jack Daly and Canadian Coast Guard Capt. Pat Barnes were in a helicopter on a routine intelligence-gathering mission. Barnes was the pilot, Daly the observer as they photographed the Russian merchant ship Kapitan Man in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The freighter was suspected of gathering intelligence on U.S. nuclear submarines transiting through the strait to and from the Trident submarine base in Bangor, 20 miles west of Seattle. On that day, it was believed to be shadowing the USS Ohio. Daly and Barnes recall seeing a bright flash of light from the ship and felt pain in their eyes. Both men were not believed by their governments. Barnes after a long battle got the Canadian government to eventually recognize his eye injuries as service-connected. The U.S. Navy not only denied Daly medical treatment as a veteran, it this year rejected a Pentagon recommendation that the former officer be given the Purple Heart - a military award to soldiers who have been killed or wounded in combat. Navy officials rejected the Purple Heart recommendation because the ship was from the former Soviet Union which is now not considered a "hostile foe" of the United States. from this link |
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