Laser attack on passenger plane: 50-year-old arrested
In August, an airplane was attacked with a laser pointer at Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport. The police have now arrested a suspect.
As here in a screenshot from a film by the US Federal Police (FBI), the case in Germany was also attacked with green laser light.
(Image: FBI)
Police in Kehl, Baden-WĂĽrttemberg, have arrested a man who allegedly dazzled a passenger plane with a laser pointer. The 50-year-old suspect is said to have targeted the pilot and co-pilot of the plane twice during the approach at Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport on the evening of August 21 this year.
The pilot was able to turn away from the laser light in time so that he was not harmed, according to the police report. Around ten minutes later, the co-pilot filmed the incident during the second laser attack. The video recording was the basis for the initial investigation. Following an appeal by the police in the press, several witnesses came forward who were able to detect a green laser beam before and after the time of the attack, the report continues.
After the suspicion against the 50-year-old was confirmed, his home was searched. According to the police, they found several pieces of evidence. Although the 180 passengers, flight safety or ground personnel were not endangered, the police continue, "such irresponsible behavior nevertheless poses a high risk to the pilot himself and to the aircraft as a whole". The suspect faces a prison sentence of between six months and ten years for dangerous interference with air traffic.
Attacks on rescue helicopters too
Laser attacks are not only directed at passenger aircraft. In 2023, the Federal Police reported that their helicopter pilots were also being targeted, for example by rescue helicopters. In February of this year, the Bielefeld police reported a laser attack on a military aircraft.
Aircraft are usually attacked with laser pointers during their approach. There were 60 such incidents at Frankfurt am Main Airport alone in 2022, and 44 in August and September last year, reported dpa. Nationwide, there were around 500 laser attacks on aircraft in 2014.
Such attacks are serious for the health of pilots, especially as laser pointers have become increasingly powerful recently. In addition to damage to health such as retinal burns, it can lead to a reduction in the pilot's field of vision or disorientation. At night in particular, when the eyes have adapted to the lighting conditions and the light in the cockpit is dimmed considerably, glare can lead to a temporary loss of night vision.
(anw)
