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New York Pilots Blinded By Lasers More Often Than Ever – NBC New York

NEW YORK – The problem of the use of lasers near New York airports is not new news, what does concern pilots in our area is that the incidents continue, and more frequently than what is reported.

Suffolk County Police Sergeant John Vahey recalls the call just before 3 a.m. on May 10 that sent police flying and put air traffic near Long Island’s MacArthur Airport on high alert. .

“The pilot was flying in the area, preparing to land, and the plane inside the cockpit was illuminated by a laser,” he told our sister network NBC’s investigative team, the News 4 I-Team.

The pilot of the private helicopter was temporarily blinded but managed to land safely. The suspect disappeared into the dark, frustrating authorities who are alarmed by the growing number of incidents involving laser pointers aimed at aircraft.

“They’re readily available,” says Vahey. “You can order them online, and frankly, I think people were bored of being in isolation for COVID and playing with them like they were toys.”

The number of incidents is increasing. On Long Island, the FAA reports that laser attacks shot up from five in 2020 to 132 in 2021, accounting for more than half of the attacks in New York last year. Statewide, reports increased 91 percent in 2021. Nationally, the increase was more than 41 percent.

There has been no plane crash, not even a minor mishap, due to a laser attack. But members of the aviation community say that’s no reason to downplay the danger.

“It’s disorienting and like the initial shock of what happens,” recalls pilot Brian Sheridan, who lives on Long Island. Flight instructor Michael Canders likens the experience to “old-fashioned flashbulbs on a camera going off, causing temporary blindness.”

Suffolk County Police have tracked the suspects from the skies and are now using laser goggles, GPS technology and infrared cameras to hunt them down.

“We can point it at a person on the ground and get an address and then send ground units there,” Vahey says, adding a warning to parents and anyone pointing a laser at the sky. “It’s not a toy. Don’t give it to children and if you point it at a plane we will come looking for you.”

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