Pointing a laser at an aircraft

A laser device about the size of a ballpoint pen could help bring down a helicopter.

Jim Englin, a state patrol pilot, urged the House Public Safety Policy and Oversight Committee to imagine a bright flash bulb going off directly in their faces. “You’d blink it off, you may have some discomfort for a little while, but it would go away. You can imagine what the problem would be if you were in an aircraft.”

He said the state patrol suffered three laser illumination events in 2008. Arrests were made in two cases, but charges were never brought forth.

Current federal law is designed to secure larger air carriers, leaving a loophole and forcing states or local municipalities to prohibit discharging a laser into the cockpit of an aircraft.

Sponsored by Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL-South St. Paul), HF1097 would make it a felony in Minnesota, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Approved March 12 by the committee, the bill was sent to the House Finance Committee with a requested re-referral to the House Public Safety Finance Division. A companion, SF1408, sponsored by Senate President James Metzen (DFL-South St. Paul), awaits action by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Englin showed packaging for one such light, which runs on AAA batteries and can be bought at many office supply stores or big box retailers. “It’s advertised as the most powerful legal green laser pointer available. It has a range of over 10 miles in just this one little simple pen.” The device is rated 3A on a scale where four is a military or commercial application.

“We’re less than 1,000 feet from the ground, and we’re less than 100 mph. It gives the ability to track an aircraft in that flight regime fairly easily,” Englin said. “This simple penlight can cause a great deal of damage and a great deal of carnage, if you will, if we were to crash.”

The bill would exempt search and rescue situations when the person on the ground is indicating their location.