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Man Who Pointed Laser At Aircraft Gets 30-Month Sentence
coondoggie writes "In a move federal prosecutors hope sends a strong message to the knuckleheads who point lasers at aircraft for fun, a California man was sentenced to 30 months in prison for shining one at two aircraft. According to the FBI Adam Gardenhire, 19, was arrested on March 29, 2012 and named in a two-count indictment filed in United States District Court in Los Angeles that said he pointed the beam of a laser at a private plane and a police helicopter that responded to the report."
yes, you can. I know people that have recently done so for their holography hobbies
{Low-cost apparatus designed by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers to quickly and accurately measure the properties of handheld laser devices has shown that nearly 90 percent of green pointers and 44 percent of red pointers tested were out of compliance with federal safety regulations.
Green pointers, which rely on frequency-doubling optics, also emitted “unacceptable” levels of infrared light, reported the team led by NIST Laser Safety Officer Joshua Hadler. It also found one pointer delivering more than ten times the allowable output power in the visible region. Reporting the results of its study on 122 pointers at the International Laser Safety Conference taking place in Orlando, Florida, this week, NIST says that the apparatus has been deliberately designed to be replicated easily by other institutions.
While anecdotal reports of green laser hazards have previously appeared in scientific journals and the media, NIST says its tests are the first reported precision measurements of a large number of handheld laser devices. The tests also showed, unexpectedly, that many red laser pointers are also out of compliance with federal rules as defined by the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). "Our results raise numerous safety questions regarding laser pointers and their use," the team's paper states.}
http://optics.org/news/4/3/33
Oh you can still buy them, just not in buckyball form anymore. Head over to the United Nuclear website and look for the 10 pound rare earth magnets labelled "Extremely Dangerous Magnet"! Remember, it's not fun if it's not labelled "extremely dangerous!"
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
I would bet that the pilot would have plenty of time to see the dot and grab the protection after he sees it, are there even any documented cases of a pilot being blinded by a laser? How many compared to reports of beams on aircraft? (also of note, passengers being blinded, while not life threatening to the whole plane, is still bad and unconscionable)
I have flown with colleagues who have been hit by a laser and who were blinded for a few minutes, having to transfer control to the other pilot but fortunately without permanent eye damage. It's a very sudden flash without warning. Laser light is very focused, so you don't see any "dot" until it's pointed directly at you.
Even worse, I have heard of at least one pilot who has actually lost his license due to permanent eye damage after a laser strike. What a fun game, isn't it?
Taking precautions against them, especially small, cheap precautions (like door locks and protective glasses) which are effective against some of the more common problems, makes sense....
If only there was a way of keeping laser light out and letting other light in so the pilots can still see the runway at night... Yes, even with all the modern electronic guidance systems, being able to look outside is still one of the very basic safety features of any aircraft.
Most cheap "lasers" you buy are not true lasers, running on LEDs.
How are LED lasers not true lasers?
. I also wonder why it would need a focus lens to stay focused for ~100 ft (as per video from their web site).
because of the size of the lasing medium. Given the smallest radius of the beam, which of course can't be larger than the exit aperture of the optics, or the size of the lasing medium if no optics are used, and the wave length, the minimum dispersion angle can be determined. IIRC, the dispersion angle for a LED laser is something like 30 degrees before the optics, because the lasing medium is roughly the size of the wavelength.
Nobody is pointing scientific lasers at aircraft.
What this is all about is direct-diode lasers. Wicked Lasers takes these high-powered diodes, backs them up with a small power source and places them in a pointer housing. Voila: "Commercial-grade laser"
Laser power has gotten DRASTICALLY higher in recent years, specifically with the advent of high-powered direct-diode lasers which much more portable than any type of laser tech previously available.
Anything over 1mW (or somewhat higher as long as its firmly ensconced in an enclosure that prevents direct access) is not considered eye-safe (class 1).
Classes 2 and 3 (and the associated sub-classes) cover lasers between 2mW and 500mW. Lasers in this class can cause permanent damage very quickly, however the blink reflex (at roughtly 250ms) is fast enough to prevent such damage.
Anything over 500mW (1/2 Watt) is considered Class 4. There is no Class 5.
Class 4 means various things: Permanent instantaneous eye damage (blink reflex is not fast enough to prevent damage). Clearly, the "pointers" coming from overseas fall into the Class 4 category. While these diodes may not be waveform stabilized enough to find use in holography, they are plenty powerful to do some real damage if not handled correctly. Owning a hand-held device capable of output power in excess of 1 watt requires proper handling and respect.
Gov't enforcement on import of high-powered lasers is lax. Enforcement of their usage falls to the various state radiological boards, and the FDA at the Federal level. Any operator must possess a federal variance in order to run public laser exhibitions indoors, an additional FAA clearance is required to run outdoors, also any laser display device must be covered separately under a device variance (which ensures the device contains proper safety labels, keyswitch interlocks, registration with gov't entities, etc.) before it can be considered legal for "professional" use.
As a laser show professional, I'm just awaiting the day someone does something really stupid which results in catastrophe and ruins it for the rest of us. The US already has some of the most stringent regulations in the world covering allowable exposure and prohibiting certain types of effects (audience scanning, etc) from being used. Enjoy the pretty lights while you can, before some bozo prompts a crackdown.
I'm going to take in seriousness something said in jest, but that's what geeks do... I read recently that the laser doesn't actually drill right through the cockpit window and quick-fry the retinas of the pilots, Rather, the beam splashes on the window, making it difficult or impossible to see out while the beam is in play. Which is still a really bad thing (and a phenomenally stupid thing to do at many levels) ESPECIALLY at low altitude approaching an airport, but is not exactly the same thing as smoking two sets of eyes and leaving the plane permanently pilotless. The article was making the case that the talk of permanently blinding pilots is conventional justice-system-driven hyperbole to make the crime seem worse than it is. (Which in my opinion is unnecessary. It's a stupid move that really could have dire consequences, so I'm ok with offenders going to jail. Eventually the word will get around.)
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.