Pilots, unlike cats, are not amused by shiny laser pointers.
The FAA has unfortunately reported on a significant increase in the number of pilots reporting laser strikes in 2020, even as fewer planes were flying due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Last year, there were a total of 6,852 laser incidents reported to the FAA, according to information posted on the administration s website. This number is up about 12% from 2019, when there 6,136 reported cases. What makes this increase more noteworthy, and also concerning, is that it occurred during a year which saw a 60% decrease in the total number of flights flown, Forbes notes.
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Crime doesn’t pay and neither does shining lasers at pilots while they try to land a plane.
A man accused of shining a laser pointer at landing planes in Montana has narrowly escaped jail time, and will instead serve several years of probation. He was previously facing over a year in prison, according to reports. Brian John Loven pleaded guilty to the incident which occurred on March 3rd, 2020. (iStock)
Brian John Loven pleaded guilty to the incident which occurred on March 3rd, 2020, 6 KPVI reports. He had been accused of pointing a laser at the cockpit of a SkyWest flight as it approached the Great Falls International Airport on March 3, 2020.
Missoula man gets probation after pointing laser at plane Follow Us
Question of the Day By - Associated Press - Friday, February 26, 2021
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) - A Missoula man has been sentenced to three years of probation after aiming a laser pointer at an airplane last year as it approached the Grand Falls International Airport in northern Montana.
Brian John Loven, 42, was sentenced Thursday after he pleaded guilty to aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft in October, the Missoulian reported.
“It is important for the public to understand that pointing any laser, even a small one, at the cockpit of an aircraft can obscure the pilot’s view and jeopardize the safe operations of the aircraft,” acting U.S. Attorney Leif Johnson said.
GREAT FALLS, Mont. - A Missoula man who admitted to aiming a laser beam at an airplane as it was approaching the Great Falls airport has been sentenced.
According to a release from the Department of Justice, Brian John Loven, 42, pleaded guilty to aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft.
The prosecution said in court documents that around 9:40 pm on March 3, 2020, two pilots operating a SkyWest flight reported that on their descent to the Great Falls airport, the plane was hit with a bright green laser that lit up the cockpit.Â
The pilots reported that the incident occurred on the east end of town in the area of Giant Springs State Park.
Loven sentenced for aiming a laser pointer at an airplane landing in Great Falls
MTN
and last updated 2021-02-26 12:10:21-05
GREAT FALLS â Brian John Loven was sentenced in federal court in Great Falls on Thursday after pleading guilty to aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft in flight. Loven, 42 years old, pleaded guilty on October 28, 2020.
Prosecutors said that at about 9:40 p.m. on March 3, 2020, two pilots operating a SkyWest flight reported that on their descent to the Great Falls airport, the plane was hit with a bright green laser that lit up the cockpit. The pilots reported that the incident occurred on the east end of town in the area of Giant Springs State Park.