Aircraft being attacked by lasers

[Touring Mars]

Flying is a risky business. There will always be any number of things that can and do go wrong, but there is nothing wrong in addressing the increasing risk posed by deliberate acts of sabotage such as laser attacks. It is quite right to put them into perspective, however - while they may be a common problem, they have (until this point anyway) not resulted in any noticable casualty figures. But that doesn't take away from the fact that by shining a laser at a plane on purpose, you are committing a criminal offence that could result in a very serious accident. Birds cannot be held responsible for causing an air accident, but an idiot with a laser pointer can. The relative likelihood of such accidents is moot.

I'm against banning laser pointers, but I'm in favour of stiff criminal penalties for those idiots who use lasers for such attacks.

*Notes the ironic music currently playing on my iTunes... "Blinded By Light" from the FFXIII soundtrack...*

 

[the Interceptor]

So it still seems birds are a far greater danger to the integrity of the flight than any laser is.

You can't ban birds.

The case with the laser pointers exists because they are the perfect device for this task and they could be banned. There are a lot of things around an airplane you can't get rid of easily, but with laser pointers, you could.

 

[Duke]

I'll say again - banning laser pointers is next to useless, and in fact quite unconstitutional and a human rights violation of a minor sort. HOWEVER, making stiff penalties for people shining lasers at aircraft is quite valid considering the increased chance of causing major harm.

 

[BrutherSuperior]

You can't ban birds.

The case with the laser pointers exists because they are the perfect device for this task and they could be banned. There are a lot of things around an airplane you can't get rid of easily, but with laser pointers, you could.

What is the risk and what is the cost? (in numbers)

The risk is probably quite low, most likely a statistical zero, for a laser pointer to bring down an airplane. Are they a nuisance? Yes. A real danger? I doubt it.

What is the cost for banning a useful product? Will people have to register or require a license to purchase a laser pointer? How much will that bureaucracy cost and how will a ban affect those who use/need them for their intended purposes? How far will this regulation/ban go and how badly will the government screw it up?

Is this a national problem? What airports have the greatest total of 'laser attacks' and which have the lowest/none? What are the differences between those locations?

Banning anything is usually a ham-fisted approach to problem solving as it never really solves the problem while creating new problems and massive costs and red-tape. Even a thorough study on this would cost in the millions of dollars (despite its difficulty being a college-grade stats project) and implementation of such a ban would take years to take effect. Why years? Because it's not a great risk and the FDA regulates lasers...not the FAA...and congress would have to pass this law. Good luck getting anything like this through while the TSA is molesting people.

If a plane is brought down tomorrow b/c of a laser - all bets are off. That's realistically what it would take to ban laser pointers.

There's no such thing as zero risk. You can go for the walk in the park on a nice evening and get struck by lightning...twice. You can also mathematically calculate the odds of such an occurrence happening. You can lower risk, but you cannot fully eliminate it to zero.

If you want 100% risk-free air travel, that's a pipe dream.

 

[the Interceptor]

What is the risk and what is the cost? (in numbers)

The risk is probably quite low, most likely a statistical zero, for a laser pointer to bring down an airplane. Are they a nuisance? Yes. A real danger? I doubt it.

What is the cost for banning a useful product? Will people have to register or require a license to purchase a laser pointer? How much will that bureaucracy cost and how will a ban affect those who use/need them for their intended purposes? How far will this regulation/ban go and how badly will the government screw it up?

Is this a national problem? What airports have the greatest total of 'laser attacks' and which have the lowest/none? What are the differences between those locations?

Banning anything is usually a ham-fisted approach to problem solving as it never really solves the problem while creating new problems and massive costs and red-tape. Even a thorough study on this would cost in the millions of dollars (despite its difficulty being a college-grade stats project) and implementation of such a ban would take years to take effect. Why years? Because it's not a great risk and the FDA regulates lasers...not the FAA...and congress would have to pass this law. Good luck getting anything like this through while the TSA is molesting people.

If a plane is brought down tomorrow b/c of a laser - all bets are off. That's realistically what it would take to ban laser pointers.

There's no such thing as zero risk. You can go for the walk in the park on a nice evening and get struck by lightning...twice. You can also mathematically calculate the odds of such an occurrence happening. You can lower risk, but you cannot fully eliminate it to zero.

If you want 100% risk-free air travel, that's a pipe dream.

I didn't think I would ever say this, but except that I personally rate the risk of a laser pointer incident a little higher, I agree with this.

 

[BrutherSuperior]

I didn't think I would ever say this, but except that I personally rate the risk of a laser pointer incident a little higher, I agree with this.

I guess this is the difference between having a discussion over a message board instead of over a few beers.

I apologize for not explaining myself better earlier.

 

[the Interceptor]

I guess this is the difference between having a discussion over a message board instead of over a few beers.

I apologize for not explaining myself better earlier.

Accepted!

 

[NFSCARBON1]

Perhaps they should fit sensors to the windscrenns of planes that detect lasers and work out where their coming from. Then fit a laser to the front of the plane that shines directly into the idiot shining the pointers' eyes. That'd stop them pretty quick.

 

[MatskiMonk]

Perhaps they should fit sensors to the windscrenns of planes that detect lasers and work out where their coming from. Then fit a laser to the front of the plane that shines directly into the idiot shining the pointers' eyes. That'd stop them pretty quick.

Hmm, maybe just keep a couple of AH-64's on standby at the air port, I'm pretty sure they could sort it out...

 

[ledhed]

Darwin award winners all.

*** whoooeeee nice dump ...hmmm ..now that I woke up and all that there ..what we doing billy Bob ?


+++ well Festus --I wasa thinkin....lets go down to the airport and use those laser pointers --see if we can bag a bird .

***Nawww geee billy bob ..last time we pointed it at them truckers they justa bout broke my neck off and I still can't get at the one he shoved up my chute ..ate 4 cans a beans and all .... ' Don't know billy --them maybe war pilots and that there and kick our arse again.


++= aww Festus you no never mind --When they land we can be watch from the deer stand --if they them midget pilots like on TV or gurly ones we can grab the plane easy like .

### Awright then Billy --this time though aim at the FRONT --last time you aimed at the back end and them people in that wagon got all refracted and all and drove of the road ,,,I miss mrs piggy still she was gonna be fine eaten .

 

[Touring Mars]

Darwin award winners all.

*** whoooeeee nice dump ...hmmm ..now that I woke up and all that there ..what we doing billy Bob ?


+++ well Festus --I wasa thinkin....lets go down to the airport and use those laser pointers --see if we can bag a bird .

***Nawww geee billy bob ..last time we pointed it at them truckers they justa bout broke my neck off and I still can't get at the one he shoved up my chute ..ate 4 cans a beans and all .... ' Don't know billy --them maybe war pilots and that there and kick our arse again.


++= aww Festus you no never mind --When they land we can be watch from the deer stand --if they them midget pilots like on TV or gurly ones we can grab the plane easy like .

### Awright then Billy --this time though aim at the FRONT --last time you aimed at the back end and them people in that wagon got all refracted and all and drove of the road ,,,I miss mrs piggy still she was gonna be fine eaten .