Man Who Pointed Laser At Aircraft Gets 30-Month Sentence 761
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."
Good. (Score:5, Insightful)
It's because of idiots like this that we can't have nice toys. Laser pointers get banned and people who buy them get looked on with suspicion. All because some morons think pointing them at aircraft is a good idea.
How about we punish the idiots, and let the rest of us have our toys?
Re:Good. (Score:5, Funny)
Of course a very remote secondary consideration is not blinding the pilot and causing a planeload of passengers to crash. A very remote consideration compared to getting my geek on.
Re:Good. (Score:5, Informative)
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.)
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What I'm wondering is how people get caught? The aircraft *might* be able to pinpoint a general area, but one would think that by the time the coppers arrive, the asshole has put it away?
Re:Good. (Score:5, Informative)
He didn't put it away, and instead flashed at the police chopper that was responding to the report.
Re:Good. (Score:4, Interesting)
Apparently people really are that stupid [youtube.com].
Re:Good. (Score:5, Interesting)
I am a private pilot, and you should be aware that without the threat of lasers shining on your windscreen, 56% of fatal aircraft accidents happen during the takeoff, initial climb, final approach and landing phases of flight (where it's possible to shine one of these lasers). This represents approximately 6% of the total time of an average flight. Let me repeat: 56% of fatal accidents happen during the same 6% of a flight.
Given that these are already the most stressful parts of the flight for the pilot, adding stress like not being able to see is insanely bad news. If this had happened at night, it could have temporarily blinded the pilot, long enough to lose control of the plane on the initial climb and stall it out. If it had happened on the final approach or landing, especially on a windy day, the pilot would have missed the runway and likely cratered.
Picking nits about whether the pilot was permanently blinded or not won't matter so much once everyone aboard (and likely some on the ground) are dead because of the incident.
Reference: http://planecrashinfo.com/cause.htm [planecrashinfo.com]
Re:Good. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Good. (Score:5, Informative)
Several airports have hawks on the premises for exactly this purpose.
Re:Good. (Score:5, Informative)
yeah so very sad we can no longer buy laser pointers online powerful enough to bore holes through solid materials....oh wait, you can
http://www.wickedlasers.com.hk/arctic [wickedlasers.com.hk]
Re:Good. (Score:4)
You can't import anything into the US over 5mW.
Re:Good. (Score:5, Informative)
yes, you can. I know people that have recently done so for their holography hobbies
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Re:Good. (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Re:Good. (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Good. (Score:5, Insightful)
The problem is not the toddlers, or the magnets. The problem is the parents.
Re:Good. (Score:5, Insightful)
Except that the magnets are small and easily missed by parents, especially if they've fallen on the floor at a friend's house.
The fact is that at some point, you do have to recognize societal responsibilities, these aren't always obvious without benefit of hindsight.
Re:Good. (Score:5, Insightful)
-- green led
Re:Good. (Score:5, Insightful)
So, you bring your toddler over to a friend's house, and see a plastic squirt gun and a teddy bear on the coffee table --- double-check that the squirt gun is really a squirt gun, and it's no problem, right?
After your toddler blows her head off, you realize that the teddy bear was a loaded custom-designed teddy-bear-shaped semi-automatic pistol with the safety off.
That's the problem with the magnet systems --- they look like fairly harmless kids' toys, so unless a parent already *knows* how dangerous the clusters of shiny marbles in their geeky friend's apartment are (like they would know a gun-shaped gun is), they're unlikely to be sufficiently protective of their child until a few days too late.
Re:Good. (Score:5, Insightful)
Or you for allowing your toddler to be able to pick up a loaded gun. When I take my small children to friend's houses that are not normally prepared for toddlers, I watch them like a hawk. I move knick-knacks and glasses that they can easily knock over and break. I move bowls of hard candy and TV remotes. If there was a gun on the coffee table, I sure as hell would move it too. I certainly don't let the wonder around by themselves and if they pick something up off the floor I grab them and find out what it is. Fishy stuff out of a toddler's mouth is sometimes gross, but not hard. It's called being responsible.
Fact: People without small children do not recognize the stupid things small children will do. It is the parent's responsibility to know what their child is capable of and react accordingly.
Re:Good. (Score:4, Insightful)
The fact is that humans have managed to survive in a dangerous world with lots of things that would kill little kids for hundreds of thousands of years. Yes, there are ways of protecting kids as a parent. It's people like you who'll bring about the idiocracy.
Re:Good. (Score:5, Interesting)
The fact is that what you suggest is literally impossible.
No, but that of the friend, and that of lax gun regulation that allows him to have guns in the first place.
Please do not vote or breed. It is the parent's responsibility to ensure the environment the children is safe - always unless that responsibility is given to a caretaker. Even selecting a quality caretaker is a parent's responsibility. Stop trying to blame your ineptitude on inanimate objects.
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The problem is not even the parents.
The problem is affixing the magnet in a piece that can break or be sucked by the toddler.
Just like there are regulations about using lead paint on glasswares and plates, there should have been rules about using strong earth magnets ON toys.
Banning the sale of magnets AS toys is stupid.
Re:Good. (Score:5, Insightful)
We've been through this argument before.
"Why should 100,000 people be denied the fun of playing with their toys just because a dozen toddlers go to the hospital and one or two of them die as a result?"
"It's not the manufacturer's fault, it's not the toy's fault, it's the parents' fault for not supervising their toddlers properly. Irresponsible parents absolve us of all responsibility."
"I want to play with my toys and I'm willing to see a couple of toddlers die as a result as long as I can blame their death on their parents' responsibility."
That argument doesn't play too well, even in the freedom-loving United States (much less nanny-state Europe and Australia). All you have to do is bring up one set of parents whose toddler died and that brings people back to reality.
When manufacturers try that in product liability cases, the juries don't buy it and hit them with big damage awards. "I knew some toddlers were dying but I'm a libertarian and it serves them right for having irresponsible parents" is not a successful trial strategy. And when government agencies ban these products, the (elected) politicians back them up. And the voters back them up.
You've lost that argument. If anyone is on the high school debating team and wants to continue it, I'll leave it to you.
Re:Good. (Score:5, Interesting)
Toddlers were eating those tiny magnet balls... which is a problem since it'll effectively punch holes in your intestines and kill you. It's not like it was grown men doing it.
What I heard was teenagers were using them as impromptu toungue studs.
Re:Good. (Score:5, Funny)
Eating magnets? What's the attraction in that?
Re:Good. (Score:5, Funny)
Eating magnets? What's the attraction in that?
Ironic, don't you think?
Re:Good. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Good. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Good. (Score:5, Informative)
Zen Magnets [zenmagnets.com] are still available [neoballs.com].
Less expensive than Buckyballs were, and the quality seems to be pretty decent.
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Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
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Nothing worse than a crying rectum.
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In WA, Princess Margaret Hospital reports there have been 33 cases of children swallowing magnets since 2006 and four were admitted to hospital for treatment. In April 2012, a two year old boy underwent emergency surgery to remove 27 small magnets from his stomach.
I added the emphasis above, but this is from your article. The magnets were not harming children. Parents that allowed their children to play with adult toys unsupervised harmed the children.
If your logic was true, every company producing kitchen knives is responsible for children that get cut when fishing through the knife drawer while the parents are not looking. Every company producing cleansers (including lye) is responsible for children that get sick or die from ingesting the cleaners, and not the p
Re: (Score:3)
You just pointed at the same thing again. The chile INGESTED magnets. What the fuck? What parent in their right mind allows their toddlers to play with these at all, let alone unsupervised. How do you know it was the parent's fault? Because the kid at twelve of these magnets. Not 1 where the parent took them away from the kid, but 12! Wholly shit you make no sense. I gave the logic previously, go back and read it again.
Whether you see purpose in them or not is irrelevant to the discussion! My kid pl
Re:Good. (Score:4, Insightful)
Justice or Revenge.
It seems to me 30 Months (2 1/2 years) of prison for someone being a knuckle head is over the top. Yes what he did was dangerous, and he should be punished. But I could see 2 Weeks prison as justice.
This guy was 19 years old. That 2 1/2 years cost him a good opportunity to get a college education, once he gets out his life is in screwed.
2 Weeks of prison he probably wouldn't do it again.
Re:Good. (Score:4, Insightful)
Completely agree. It's an issue, so if they want to make a point, put the guy in jail for a week or two. More than a day but less than a month.
A 30 month sentence is not appropriate for being a douchebag. This is essentially just making an example of the guy and is unjust--the punishment doesn't fit the crime at all. Because of that, I hope this knucklehead appeals and gets off scot free.
Re:Good. (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, yeah, because you can't catch everyone. If the punishment is a week in jail and you're very unlikely to get caught, plenty of people are going to do this. If you have a small chance of spending years in jail, non-idiots will think twice and not do it. I hope he spends every day of it in jail and a bunch of similar morons decide to find their fun in other ways.
Re:Good. (Score:5, Insightful)
We punish a crime based on the foreseeable consequences of the crime, not on the simplicity of the act. This guy really could have crashed an airliner, killing hundreds. Pointing a laser at a plane is easy, but so is pulling a trigger.
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Are you one of those people who will exclaim "What? The death penalty for breaking and entering? How unjust!" after reading this? [foxnews.com]
You do know that he wasn't charged with being a douchebag? Hell, douchebaggery isn't even a crime. So I have to wonder, are you uninformed or do you think people should be able to engage in activities that can result in significant harm without any consequence unless something bad happens? Should I be able to go down to the local quik-e-mart with my arsenal and start shooting at p
Re:Good. (Score:4, Insightful)
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We should probably lighten up those drunk driving laws too. It's not like those people ever repeat their crimes [nbcnews.com]... oh, wait.
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They don't mention the wattage, and if it was one of the relatively harmless presentation pointer/cat toy lasers I'd agree with you. But it's unlikely anyone would have actually noticed such a weak laser as anything other than sunlight glinting off something. And two weeks is laughably light sentence for attempting to do potentially permanent eye damage to an aircraft pilot and risking the lives of everyone on board.
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The goal isn't just that this kid doesn't do it again. It's also to try to convince other knuckleheads that doing this is a really bad idea.
And as some have pointed out, the reason that this guy didn't cause a couple hundred deaths and several million dollars worth of property damage was because he was lucky. If he had in fact caused the plane to crash, he would probably be locked up for the rest of his life.
Re:Good. (Score:5, Insightful)
I've had to sit through a number of powerpoint presentations in darkened rooms where a green laser pointer was too bright. If red is too dim, it's the batteries.
Occasionally I've been in presentations where someone was using a dry erase whiteboard as a screen. Never do that with a laser pointer. If they had tried to do it with a green laser, I would have walked out. That shit is reflective.
Last gripe: people, you really shouldn't need to use a laser pointer on every single slide. Scientists are horrible at this. "If I am not making little circles around random places on the screen at all times, they'll think I'm not a real scientist!" Text should speak for itself, if you're pointing at text, you probably have too much to be of any use, or are nervously pointing unnecessarily. If you have images and you want to direct someone's attention at a small part, you could put arrows on it pretty easily, but that's the one time you need a laser pointer, that's typically only one or two times a slideshow from my experience.
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You know if you spin the laser dot in a circle it makes the videos load faster, right?
Well, only clockwise. The other way will show it down, or cause time to go backwards or something.
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How about we punish the idiots, and let the rest of us have our toys?
Agree, but prison... That's a bit expensive... I mean 2 years of community service, ought to do the trick... And be a hell lot cheaper...
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Re:Good. (Score:5, Insightful)
Intelligence and Wisdom are two different things.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Good. (Score:4, Interesting)
Yeah I usually prefer a higher INT score unless I am rolling a Cleric :P
Re: (Score:3)
If you take "Keen Intellect" you can pretty much dump WIS -- it lets you use INT instead for every roll.
Re:Good. (Score:5, Funny)
Intelligence and Wisdom are two different things.
Don't forget Charisma, Dexterity, Constitution, and Strength
Re:Good. (Score:5, Insightful)
Because the term "idiots" could be applyed for you too...
The 19yo "idiot" who beamed the laser directly on a place is perhaps a total idiot, but could be a total super math freak and perhaps he works in a lab near you...
I'm a programmer, so I'm not an "idiot" when facing computer... but... I can easily be considered an idiot while doing something else...
you know, it's kinda relative, since we're all idiots in somes areas.
No, if you're "an idiot" anywhere, you're an idiot. Good judgment and personal responsibility has little to do with education or subject matter.
All of us have a duty to think about the consequences of our actions, and to help remediate the negative outcomes of anything we do. Good intentions count for nothing; making a real effort to limit the harm our action cause to others is what makes an adult.
Re:Good. (Score:4, Informative)
With publicity over the punishment for doing it, other idiots may just learn something. Just telling the one idiot that they did a bad thing that could have led to a crash doesn't serve the larger purpose of stopping this behavior.
The kid gets 30 months (probably much less if he behaves) in jail but is now much less likely to bring down a plane by blinding the pilot. So, hopefully, are many others who see that there are actually consequences for these stupid kinds of actions on their part.
Next up - the idiots flying their multicopters and model airplanes into airliner takeoff and glide paths...
Re:This wasn't a laser pointer! (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Sounds reasonable (Score:5, Insightful)
I am perfectly okay with this.
Harsh but probably well deserved (Score:3, Interesting)
misuse of sentencing (Score:5, Insightful)
Sentencing should be for punishment/rehabilitation and not to "send messages."
That kind of shit needs to go away. That's why we have "hackers" getting put away longer than rapists, or issues like Aaron Schwartz.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
There are a lot of reasons for punishment. Deterrence is a valid reason. The possible harmful consequences of this action are extreme. This kind of reckless behavior could easily result in multiple deaths. I think a little bit of extreme deterrence is warranted.
Aaron Schwartz's behavior might've hurt someone's profits someday, and really didn't hurt anybody. It took up the time of a few admins who decided to try to stop him and that's about it. There is no societal need for a high level of deterrence there.
Crewel and unusual punishment (Score:5, Interesting)
By "sending a message" they are by their own admission, using an unusual punishment.
Sure, this is an interpretive call on the meaning of "unusual" and judges are extremely unlikely to limit their own power by using a broad definition, just as they are unlikely to limit their power by using a narrow definition.
Apparently, California's prison lobby has not been deterred by the budget problems and overcrowding. We have the technology, house arrest for 30 months would be more reasonable.
Re:Crewel and unusual punishment (Score:4, Insightful)
"By "sending a message" they are by their own admission, using an unusual punishment."
Why do you assume that? The message they're sending could just as well be that this is a fairly new crime, and hence the decision is that this is actually the standard punishment for this sort of crime going forward. There needn't be an assumption that the punishment is unusual, on the contrary, this could be normal punishment for this sort of crime going forward.
You can only reasonably jump to the conclusion you have if there have been a decent number of equivalent cases whereby they gave lesser sentences and if hence this particular case stands out. There haven't been enough cases yet for that to be true.
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Punishment fetish wins again (Score:5, Insightful)
Ok this guy did something monumentally stupid which, most certainly should serve as example for others. Done. Now whats with the 30 months in prison? Why must this guy be a felon? Now unable to leave the country, unable to vote in most places, unable to own a firearm.... all for something stupid that, he is unlikely to ever do again.
The punishment fetish in this country really needs to be checked, punishments are totally out of whack with crimes when we have people losing their rights indefinitely over something which, while it could have been disasterous wasn't, and more would have been served (and just as useful an example set) by using it as a teaching moment than by ruining this guys life and making crime one of his best options going forward.
But hey, the harsh punishment crowd can go stroke themselves over it, so someone benefits.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
It simple. You do the crime, you do the time.
In Germany this crime would be "dangerous interference with railroad, ship and airplane traffic" punishable with prison for six months to ten years, minor cases 3 months to 5 years. I'd guess it is similar in the US.
It is however the first time I hear somebody prosecuted for shining lasers at airplanes.
Re:Punishment fetish wins again (Score:4, Insightful)
Agreed - for doing something dumb (not intending to harm anybody) he gets more than someone who committs assault on a peace officer and fleeing arrest... so they people trying to commit crimes get a (relative) slap on the wrist, and the people causing possible harm (no actual harm) due to lack of judgement gets three years.
Sounds like a great system!
"Not intending to harm anybody"? (Score:4, Insightful)
"For doing something dumb (not intending to harm anybody)"
What, precisely, do you think he had in mind when aiming a laser pointer in the cockpit of an airplane lining up for a landing? "Harmless", my a$$.
This was a serious violent crime. Period. End of story. The fact that his crime failed to have the intended result doesn't mean he gets a slap on the wrist.
Re:Punishment fetish wins again (Score:5, Insightful)
all for something stupid that, he is unlikely to ever do again.
Doing it twice isn't a pattern, and it's not like blinding a pilot is putting anyone's life at risk. It's far more important to preserve our freedom!
You're absolutely right. Punishment is blown way out of proportion in this country. Look at explosives, for instance. Yeah, there's some risk to explosive chemicals, but just because some guy throws a lit stick of dynamite at a crowded building, then another at the responding police car, is no reason to lock him up for 30 months, especially if the sticks didn't actually explode. While it could have been disasterous, it wasn't, and someone could have walked over the shocked and fainted bystanders, past the dynamite, and just asked the guy not to do it again. Surely he'd learn the error of his ways.
Lasers, like explosives, firearms, revolving credit, and cars, are just dangerous toys. When someone does something reckless and still doesn't kill people, they should be applauded for their courage. Everyone of lesser courage and luck will recognize their clear inferiority, and would never try to duplicate the risky stunt. Deterrent punishment is only useful in a society where people copy each other mindlessly, and clearly everyone in the United States is too smart for that.
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Why must this guy be a felon? Now unable to leave the country, unable to vote in most places, unable to own a firearm.... all for something stupid that, he is unlikely to ever do again.
Because it is a felony to do what he did and he is an adult. If you don't think it should be a felony, then I suggest you lobby to get the laws changed. In the mean time, the sentence is the sentence and if that means 30 months of hard time, then it's 30 months in jail. I'll bet that it *won't* be anything close to 30 months when it's all said and done he's going to be a few nights in the big house and a whole lot of probation/community service.
I don't get this, "wow that sentence seems too long!" argume
Why? (Score:4, Funny)
Why not public stockades for 10 days and allow the public to throw old food at him, totrure him, humiliate him, and even give him some corporal punishment?
Why the hell dont we do this anymore to people so they actually learn?
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Frankly, I agree with you, but there's that pesky old Eighth Amendment:
"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."
Frankly, I don't think that a few days in the stocks (as opposed to 10 years in prison) would be cruel. In this day, however, it would be very "unusual".
And yeah, I know that they weren't using "unusual" in that sense. The problem in this country is that the 8th Amendment has been the most pesky of the amendments to work wit
Not the first instance of jail time (Score:5, Informative)
He was pissed at all the noise. The base was there before he was born.
Re:From the article: (Score:5, Insightful)
"let's give pilots kevlar body suits in a suitcase, if someone sprays the cockpit with bullets they can open the suitcase and put the suits on"
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Except.
1. Kevlar takes time to put on and takes up a lot of space, glasses are small and can be put on quickly.
2. A person with a gun at short/medium range is much more likely to hit you in a meaningful way than a moron on the ground with a laser. 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 bein
Re:From the article: (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Re:From the article: (Score:5, Insightful)
And what exactly is the "practical solution" for keeping laser light out of windows which are designed to give pilots the best possible view outside? Any new materials I don't know of that keep laser light out but let other light through so pilots can still see the ground at night?
I don't think it's "overbearing" to make it illegal to shine lasers at aircraft.
I do think the punishment is a bit harsh for a 19 year old first offender who probably had no idea that what he was doing was so dangerous.
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Re:From the article: (Score:5, Insightful)
How about we put the onus for not being an asshole on the people who could cause the damage in the first place, not on those who might (in addition to their passengers) become victims of it?
Lasers can cause eye damage or blind a pilot pretty immediately, without time to put on goggles.
This is a good verdict. Society works if people are not assholes to each other; when they start being assholes, you need laws and enforcement to motivate them not to be.
Re:From the article: (Score:5, Insightful)
Thank you, with how many people seem to think that it is the responsibility of the victim to make sure that they are properly protected against idiots, it is nice to hear some sanity.
I personally think 30 months is too short. And the man should have been charged with attempted murder once for every person in each aircraft.
People need to become more conscious of their actions. If you know something "fun" that can kill people, you should still be charged with attempted murder, even if you were too stupid to realize your actions could have resulted in death.
But, you do end up in a grey area of what is a stupid attempt, and what is an honest mistake. However, in this case, it was obviously not a mistake, it was just stupid "fun".
As for his statement that he didn't know it was dangerous only leads to the fact that people are continuously using things without understanding what it is that they use. All laser pointers come with warnings. Even if his friend removed the label before letting his friend use it, the friend should also be responsible for notifying his friend of the dangers.
There is also the fact that this kid was not aware of the fact that it was illegal.
Now I know I am getting old, but the repeated use of the "I didn't know" defense sickens me every time I hear it in the news. What level of stupidity is required for people to do something they have no idea what they are doing?
I have been slowly getting my niece into astronomy, and now I have to deal with keeping up with these idiots causing new laws getting created, so I then have to research them, so that I can continue to teach her how to look at the stars responsibly, and while, it is obvious to keep pointers out of flight paths, now, before going to a new place I need to make sure I am more than 10 miles away from any registered airport.
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Re:From the article: (Score:5, Informative)
It's not necessarily hitting the pupil, but rather the scattering of the light. Cockpit glass is not a perfect surface. All the dust and microscratches scatter the light across the surface, and the pilot can no longer see out. And looking out the window is pretty much required when you are trying to land.
We've had this problem here locally, with Navy jets coming over the oceanfront hotels on final approach. Beer fueled idiots on a hotel balcony, shining their toys at the jets.
Re:From the article: (Score:5, Informative)
And here is another one. [youtube.com]
And for an airliner, you're looking at a 9 sq/ft window, instead of a 5mm pupil.
Re: (Score:3)
A mythbusters episode would be cool but isn't needed. Just google the videos. It quickly becomes apparent that accuracy isn't really needed. Just keep pointing the laser at the aircraft and you'll eventually hit the cockpit.
Re:From the article: (Score:5, Insightful)
What kind of accuracy would be required to hit a pilot in the eye from 100m away? The pupil has a radius of probably 5 mm.
Simple trig fails because a laser doesn't project an infinitesimal point, especially at 100m. And even if it did, you only need to hit your target for a moment to cause temporary blinding. Just the dazzle of a powerful laser as it reflects off various surfaces (or refracts through the glass) within the cockpit is probably enough to disorientate a pilot, so you don't even need to aim anywhere near their eyes.
Re:From the article: (Score:5, Insightful)
The law is stupid because the idea that laws serve as an effective deterrent is stupid.
No it isn't.
Remember when they passed that law against __________, and now no one does __________ anymore?
smoking in indoor public places
driving without a seatbelt
leaving dog poop on the pavement
corporal punishment in schools
child labour
If "laser strikes" are now a potential safety hazard, and the government wants to "do something" about them, they should start requiring pilots to wear appropriate safety gear to protect themselves against laser strikes.
So, your answer to the problem of, say, graffiti would be to coat every wall with teflon, instead of punishing those responsible? How about mandatory burkas instead of those silly anti-rape laws?
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I know of at least one pilot who got permanent eye damage after a laser strike, and who can no longer fly. The beam becomes pretty wide at that distance but is still strong enough to cause serious damage.
Re: (Score:3)
Re:All those old laser devices (Score:5, Insightful)
Hardware hackers can also pop down to the nearest gun shop, pick up a .30-06 hunting rifle, and start potting away at airplanes, injuring or killing the pilot, hitting a fuel line, or otherwise causing it to fall down go boom.
People generally don't because it's understood that (a) doing so is malicious and destructive, and (b) there are laws prohibiting it with very severe punishment as consequences.
There are a lot of things in this world that are potentially dangerous weapons, including high-powered lasers. Banning them isn't the answer, but making it very clear that they're dangerous and that you're not to treat them like toys definitely is.
Re:All those old laser devices (Score:5, Informative)
They are tremendously useful for stargazing - e.g. green laser collimators are fantastic tools for pointing out celestial objects or aiming a telescope.
Also, long-distance cat annoying.
Re:All those old laser devices (Score:5, Informative)
Heh, amateurs. Literally.
I got to use the Keck II Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics systems last week (to hunt for binary Kuiper Belt objects). It fires a 16 W CW laser (32x beyond what's needed to be Class 4) from one of the world's largest telescopes up to create an artificial ball of plasma about 90 km above the Earth. Since the ball should appear as a point source, all the distortion it in is due to the atmosphere. So, the computers calculate the distortion and cancel it out to create better resolution images than the atmosphere would allow. In theory it's better than Hubble (or so the PR people say), but in our experience using both, it really has to be a perfect night to just match Hubble.
There is an automatic aircraft detection system, but we still have to have a guy out there with a pair of binoculars looking for airplanes. More pressing though, is the satellites. To insure the laser doesn't blind any "downward-looking satellites", we have to submit our list of targets to the US Space Command. If we get close to violating any of the closures that they gave us, the laser automatically shutters and the control system bleats out "Waring! Warning! Space Command! Space Command!", which has several near heart attacks at about 3 AM...
Re:Sentence is too long (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
Now for lasers:
Sentencing [laserpointersafety.com] is all over the map, but 2.5 years is not outrageous here.
Lets compare it to kids sentenced for throwing rocks at cars. We will see that it is all over the map as far as sentencing goes.
5 years [highbeam.com] 1 person injured
Probation+Restitution [thefreelibrary.com]
Probation [baltimoresun.com] 1 child seriously injured
i would say the probation people got off way too easy. Though most of the articles I found were of people being killed, most of those were murder charges and life-sentences. Very few articles about non-fatal events. It m
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Sentence is too long (Score:5, Insightful)
I just believe we should try to bring the young back into society where they can be constructive, at least give them the chance, before sending them on to learn to be a real criminal.
Re: (Score:3)
This is a correct verdict. What this idiot did was incredibly dangerous.
Re:Most horrible non-lethal weapon idea still (Score:5, Interesting)
The Geneva Convention might have something to say about that... [wikipedia.org]
Re:How did they know it was him? (Score:4, Informative)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k4C8grAGP4 [youtube.com]