Lasers causing havoc for pilots in record numbers
September 16, 2011|By Gary Taylor, Orlando Sentinel
There's a laser light show taking place in the skies over America. It's cheap. It's easy. But most of all, authorities say, it's dangerous.
That's because those laser beams are being aimed at planes and helicopters in record numbers.
In fact, so far this year lasers have been aimed at aircraft an average of nine times a night, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
It has grown to be such a problem that in June, the FAA imposed a civil penalty of $11,000 for pointing a laser into the cockpit of an aircraft.....