loading...
Canwest News Service
Commercial aircraft were targeted by laser beams from the ground on three occasions in the last month near Vancouver International Airport.
All aircraft landed safety, but that does not diminish the dangers of pointing lasers at aircraft because of the potential to damage a pilot's eyes or cause a crash.
Lasers have various legal applications, including simply as pointers during presentations. A pen-sized model capable of sending a beam several kilometres can be purchased for less than $100.
On Nov. 12, the crew of an Orca Airways Piper aircraft arriving from Nanaimo "reported being targeted by a green laser," according to Transport Canada preliminary reports. The pilot advised that the laser appeared to be coming from the Terra Nova residential area at No. 1 Highway and Westminster Highway in Richmond.
On Nov. 1, an Alaska Airlines 737 aircraft arriving from Los Angeles reported a green laser beam directed from about 18 kilometres southeast of the airport. RCMP were alerted but made no arrests.
On Oct. 23, a Helijet International Sikorsky reported being targeted by a green laser beam while flying over the north tip of Point Grey at an altitude of 900 metres.
Transport Canada spokesman Rod Nelson said that anyone convicted of pointing a "directed bright light source" at an aircraft faces a maximum fine of $100,000 and/or up to five years in jail under the federal Aeronautics Act. Additional charges could fall under the Criminal Code of Canada.
"Transport Canada is concerned with the increasing frequency of these incidents," Nelson said. "These are crimes that put peoples' lives at risk. "
He noted that lasers are rated based on power, class one the lowest and rising to class four.
Even class-one lasers sold in stores are dangerous if pointed at someone's eye.
Higher classes of lasers include those used at light shows, for surgery, for scientific research and for military uses. They require a licence from Health Canada's Radiation Protection Bureau.
Since 2005, there have been more than 100 reported instances in Canada in civil aviation, he said.
In July 2008, a Calgary man was fined $1,000 after pleading guilty to shining a laser beam into the cockpit of an Air Canada flight carrying 20 passengers, one of the first such convictions in Canada.
lpynn@vancouversun.com
