POCATELLO — Portneuf Air Rescue crews are warning the public against pointing lasers at aircraft after an incident in local airspace temporarily blinded a Utah pilot.
Scott Strupp, a flight nurse and spokesperson for Portneuf Air Rescue, said while laser strikes are not regularly an issue during flights, they are becoming more prevalent nationwide, which is a cause for reminding the public of the dangers that shining a laser toward an aircraft can pose to those onboard.
Just as recently as two weeks ago, one University of Utah AirMed crew member was temporarily blinded in one eye when the helicopter they were flying in the Sugar House area was hit with a laser strike.
The incident prompted the Provo Police Department to launch a search for the person who they said has been “repeatedly” aiming a laser pointer at aircraft.
Strupp said Portneuf Air Rescue flies regularly in the area where that laser strike happened, and while he’s never been injured by one, he has seen them.
“We go down to the U a lot and so we’re always aware of it and it does happen,” Strupp said of laser strikes. “I’ve seen at least four laser strikes before that were significant enough that it drew my attention to where the laser was coming from, but I’ve never been blinded by one.”
Laser strikes are mainly dangerous for flight crews at nighttime when the pilot is wearing night vision goggles. The bright light of the laser gets amplified by the night vision goggles and can impair the vision of whoever’s wearing them.
The Federal Aviation Administration reported that 2021 saw a record number of laser strikes across the country, up from about 6,800 in 2020 to more than 7,000 by October 2021. Last year accounted for the most reports since 2016.
“Pointing a laser at an aircraft can temporarily blind a pilot and not only affects the crew, but also endangers passengers,” said FAA Administrator Steve Dickson in a recent news release.
The FAA said people who shine lasers at aircraft face fines of up to $11,000 per violation and up to $30,800 for multiple laser incidents. The agency reported that it issued more than $120,000 in fines for laser strikes during 2021.
Strupp said he hasn’t personally encountered laser strikes directly around Pocatello, though he acknowledged that it likely has happened in the past.
Interfering with a flight in that way, he said, could temporarily take the air rescue crew out of service in the Pocatello area and really impact the community’s emergency services by delaying care for those who might need it.
“It could take a helicopter away from potentially responding to emergencies, accidents, traumas, search and rescues,” he said. “Then at that point, Pocatello doesn’t have the coverage that they could have, and they would have to call a helicopter from farther away, which would just delay care for the patient.”
Portneuf Air Rescue posted on its Facebook page about the Utah incident.
“Our thoughts go out to our neighbors to the south, sharing an airspace, at U of U AirMed,” Portneuf Air Rescue wrote on Facebook. “{span}We exercise caution while flying but would like to bring awareness to this subject. Please remember we have many loved ones aboard at all times.”{/span}