From the office of Sen. J.B. Jennings:
Days before the busiest travel day of the year, a bipartisan pair of Maryland lawmakers unveiled a measure aimed at curbing a dangerous trend that some worry is making flying more dangerous. The proposal announced today would take aim at a growing threat to aircraft—laser pointers being used by individuals on the ground to temporary blind pilots in flight.
In a bill that is pre-filed for the 2013 legislative session, Delegate Sam Arora (D-Montgomery) and Senator J.B. Jennings (R-Harford & Baltimore Cos.) seek stiffer penalties for people who shine laser pointers into aircraft cockpits, often resulting in flash blindness that renders a pilot temporarily unable to control the aircraft.
“Today’s run of the mill laser pointers are widely available and dangerously powerful,” Del. Arora said. “They are blinding pilots and creating life-threatening situations. We have an opportunity here to make flying Maryland’s skies safer for everyone.”
In addition to flash blindness, a laser strike in an aircraft cockpit can cause disorientation and eye injuries for the flight crew. In February 2011, pilots flying a 50-ton Southwest Airlines jet with more than 130 people on board were blinded during landing at BWI by a green laser. They managed to safely land the jet before being rushed to the hospital with eye injuries.
In recent years, first-responder pilots throughout Maryland have been temporarily blinded while conducting searches or conducting medevac flights, including high-profile incidents in Montgomery County, Mt. Airy, Baltimore County (multiple incidents: 1, 2, 3), Carroll County, and Wicomico County.
“I have been flying planes for 19 years, and there is no time more critical for a pilot than takeoff and landing,” Sen. Jennings said. “Blinded pilots create a danger for everyone onboard and on the ground.”
The proposed legislation would carry a penalty of up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500. Current law only permits for a $500 fine for “misuse of a laser pointer”.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reports that laser-related incidents affecting aircrafts are on the rise and increased nearly 300% between 2008 and 2011. In 2011, 63 laser-related incidents in Maryland were reported to the FAA, including eight strikes against Maryland State Police helicopters.
The proposal is identical to one previously introduced by Del. Arora that passed the House of Delegates in March but ultimately failed to reach a vote in the state Senate during the final hours of the regular legislative session, when a budget showdown between the two chambers effectively killed scores of bills that were scheduled for votes.
The Arora-Jennings bill is modeled after legislation recently passed in other jurisdictions in response to the laser pointer phenomenon. At least a dozen states and many more local jurisdictions have enacted laws against offensive use of laser pointers. In 2010, Ocean City passed an emergency law banning laser pointer sales to and possession by minors and barred most outdoor use of laser pointers.
Are you kidding me, Yes this is a issue but don’t you think these folks need to worry about more important things? Hello when is the next election?
“Sen. Jennings and Maryland Lawmakers” ? Looks like it is Jennings and one other person, “Delegate Sam Arora”.
How about doing something more productive with OUR dollars. Like try to find news ways to NOT spend them thank you.
More important things? Remember that the next time you fly into BWI in the evening. As flight attendants make their final walk through the cabin and you are pulling out your cell phone waiting to touch down so you can call your loved ones when you have landed that it’s not a big deal.
That pilot is in control of an airline that has over 150 people on board. An airline that weighs 200 tons that is touching down at over 150 miles an hour. The flight deck lighting is set up so that the pilots eyes are able to adapt to the nighttime. The flash of a laser destroys the pilots night adaption, at the most critical phase of flight, with hundreds of lives at stake. Without this night perception the pilot cannot see to judge the runway.
As a pilot myself I have had lasers shot into the cockpit twice. One time was no big deal, the second messed with my eyes enough that I to execute a go-around. This legislation may sound like a joke to you, but trust me its serious, just ask any pilot. Making the calico cat the state cat is stupid legislation, this is not. One day it may be you sitting in the back of that airplane that gets lasered then it may be a big deal.
The only mistake they’re making here is the incredibly lenient punishment… I’d prefer 10 years minimum and a $100,000 fine – and the words “homicidal moron” tattooed across their forehead. There is no reason to point a laser at an aircraft beyond the hope and expectation that it’ll result in an accident and loss of life. I’m sorry, but what person hoping for that deserves to walk among normal people?
I’ve been on the other side of the situation, with the park rangers showing up at the site we were having a party and telling the DJ to either turn off the laser light show or get a ticket (we did not know we were under the flight path of a small county airport, having not heard or spotted a plane since we’d arrived in the afternoon). Most of the time, it is just people being idiots. A disturbing the peace ticket (which can be up to 60 days in jail) more than suffices for most situations, or charge with reckless endangerment if it is intentional (5 years) and homicide if the worst happens.
There are too many laws in this country already, we do not need new ones when a jury could easily convict on a catch-all law.