Editor’s Note: Aiming a laser at an airplane is no laughing matter, ladies and gentlemen. We know you are all well-educated on the topic and ensuing dangers, but in the event you didn’t know, lasers can temporarily–or even permanently–damage your eyes. The results can be immediate, which can be deadly for someone at the controls of a high-performance fighter aircraft like the F-15Es based at RAF Lakenheath. Please, we beg you: don’t aim a laser-pointer at an aircraft. It’s a federal offense (READ: felony) in the U.S. and the offender caught, that person is subject to a $250,000 fine and could land in prison for up to five years.
The crew of a US fighter jet were “momentarily disorientated” when a laser beam was directed at the plane as it landed in Suffolk.
The US Air Force confirmed the beam was pointed at one of its F-15 Strike Eagle jets as it approached RAF Lakenheath on Wednesday night.
A spokeswoman said although the green light did not hit any of the crew in the eyes they were temporarily disorientated.
The jet landed safely, she said.
“The aircrew saw what they recognized to be a laser reflecting off the aircraft.”
A Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle from RAF Lakenheath, like this one pictured here, was targeted by a laser a couple nights ago as the jet came in to land at home station. (Photo by Jonathan Derden)
“If you can imagine a laser pointer, that’s what our aircrew saw, only it was amplified in intensity and size,” the spokeswoman said.
Directing a laser at a jet could cause a plane to crash resulting in casualties not just to the crew but to members of the public on the ground, she warned.
The article in it’s entirety can be read here.
(Featured photo courtesy of the U.S. Air Force, taken by Senior Airman Trevor T. McBride/Released)