Lasers

[helicopper]

In a recent Airborne Law Enforcement Association (ALEA) safety seminar, LASERs were identified as an extremely serious threat to both immediate (and potentially permanent) vision impairment. Incidents involving LASERs are reportedly on the rise within the U.S. I would be very interested in hearing from anyone who has any personal experience (either as PIC or pax) with a LASER incident within Canada.

 

Kindly either post particulars here or pm me.

 

Thanks for your input... intent is to gain as much relevant, local insight as possible in an effort to nip this issue in the bud prior to its expansion north of the 49th.

[Skids Up]

If one does have a problem with lazers, and even if it does get reported, what is the likelyhood of finding or convicting the guilty?

 

What precautions can and should be taken?

[helicopper]

report any experience w/LASERs to 1. whatever police agency has jurisdiction AND 2. transport canada

 

the likelihood of finding and convicting the guilty under EXISTING laws under the criminal code ("endanger a/c in flight", "mischief endangering life"... both of which require compelling evidence of criminal intent) are slim at best... a lot slimmer if these incidents go unreported.

 

as to precautions should you encounter a LASER being directed at you during flight... guard your vision as best as possible and remove yourself from the area asap... national research council of canada is currently working on a protection system for NVGs... such research will undoubtedly provide a safety mechanism to protect unaided vision as well... all of which is currently in R&D stage... bottom line - there is no defence at the present time.

[Skids Up]

Let me (the really uninformed) ask another question.

 

Is it at night the risk is highest, or can you get hit in the daytime with the same possibility of damage?

 

Thanks for helping to make us all aware...

[helicopper]

skids up... to be honest, a week ago, i was as uninformed as anyone re this issue...

 

my present understanding is that they are primarily a night flying concern... most particularly with anyone on goggles which magnifies any/all ambient light 5000+ times. by the same token, you don't want direct eye contact with these things at any time.

 

again, i would like to hear from anyone on this forum who has been subjected to them... the current product on the U.S. market is a green LASER pointer ($129) capable of projecting a highly concentrated beam of light to a distance of 25,000'!!

[MINI]

Lasers and the police... So like when the Mac 10 is pointed at my head, should I be more concerned with the laser pointed at me or the stuff coming out of the barrel... :shock: :shock:

 

Fly safe all... Mini

[Invisible]

:borg: As my fellow vertically challenged friend has indicated, the green lasers are the ones to worry about. The "Jasper" laser he refers to is the one that is "always $129 USD". Google search away and there are several pictures on the net of it hitting objects.

 

"Dennis Robertson, M.D., Mayo Clinic ophthalmologist, conducted investigations with a green laser pointer directed to the retina of a patient's eye; the eye was scheduled for removal because of a malignancy. The green laser damaged the pigment layer of the retina, although it did not cause a measurable decrease in the visual function of the patient's eye. Dr. Robertson believes that longer exposures could harm vision, however. He also warns about potential damage from higher-powered green laser pointers.

 

"With the use of laser pointers that are more powerful than five milliwatts, there would likely be damage to the actual vision," he says. "Functional damage could occur within seconds."

 

The beam will also "bend" or refract when it strikes the bubble. If there happens to be a scratch or crack, it can split the beam and still be harmful. It's an issue that needs to be addressed for the safety of all pilots.

 

Knowing Helicopper the way I do, when he gets his mind set on a topic he's like a hungry dog on a bone. :cop:

[twinstar_ca]

i remember reading in reader's digest several years ago about a cdn forces sea pig driver who got lasered... i believe there was long lasting effects... don't recall all the details however.. anyone else remember that incident??

 

good topic, HC...

[Invisible]

It was actually an American Officer on board a Canadian Military aircraft observing a "Russian Trawler" of the American Coast. I believe that's the one you refer to. They refer to that one specifically at the ALEA conference.

 

"Lieutenant Jack Daly is the naval intelligence officer who was attacked by a Russian laser in 1997. On duty monitoring and photographing a Russian merchant vessel, which was actually a spy ship, Daly was injured by the laser and suffered permanent eye injuries. This was an act of war. The Russians were in U.S. waters watching our ballistic missile submarines. But when the Coast Guard boarded the ship to confiscate the laser, the Russians had been tipped off and they had hidden it, probably in a room which was declared off-limits to the search. The Pentagon admitted Daly’s eye injuries were consistent with laser damage, but refused to blame the Russians for what happened.

 

But Jack Daly refused to join in the cover-up. His story has been told in Bill Gertz’ book, Betrayal. But for telling the truth about what happened, he has suffered in his career. A 16 year Navy veteran, he had been scheduled for a promotion to Lieutenant Commander but was passed over twice -- all in retaliation for blowing the whistle on Russian spying against America."

[Invisible]

I sit corrected. There was also a Canadian Pilot injured in this same incident. The full statement of Lt. Daly to US Congress on this incident is easily found on google, quite lengthy but informative. Here's a small piece:

 

"My name is Lieutenant Jack Daly. I am an active duty regular U.S. Naval Intelligence Officer who, prior to my transfer to San Diego last year, was stationed at the Canadian Pacific Maritime Forces Command Base, Esquimalt, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. My intelligence liaison assignment with the Canadian Armed Forces was under the auspices of the Chief of Naval Operations/Intelligence Directorate (CNO/N2) Foreign Intelligence Liaison Officer (FILO) program, managed by the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI).

 

On 4 April 1997, I, along with a Canadian Air Force pilot, Captain Patrick Barnes, were wounded aboard a Canadian CH-124 helicopter when we were lazed (shot/targeted with a laser) while on an ONI tasked surveillance mission. This surveillance mission was tasked against the Russian merchant ship KAPITAN MAN, which was located five nautical miles north of Port Angeles, Washington in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. As a result of this lazing, both Captain Barnes and I suffered irreparable eye damage resulting in permanent retinal damage (see appendix A). Captain Barnes has been permanently grounded as a result of this incident and has lost all flight qualifications. He will never fly again. The statement that the Pentagon released to the press on June 26th, 1997, that our injuries were healed, was erroneous."