American authorities on Wednesday urged the population to stop pointing lasers at planes, after a record number of incidents of this type reported by pilots in 2023. The FAA, the American civil aviation regulatory agency, announced that planes had been targeted a total of more than 13,000 times in 2023, an increase of 41% compared to the previous year and - by far - a record.
“A laser can temporarily blind a pilot or cause serious eye injury and the FAA takes this threat very seriously
,” said the head of this federal agency, Michael Whitaker, in a video.
Perpetrators face fines from the FAA of up to more than $30,000 for multiple incidents, in addition to potential federal and local criminal penalties.
Incidents at night
Most incidents occur at night, during takeoffs and landings.
Authorities attribute this sharp increase to the greater availability of lasers for purchase on the internet, as well as their increased power and the emergence of more visible green lasers.
Pilots are also more encouraged to report this type of incident, partly explaining this sharp increase.
Lasers can cause significant damage to the retina.
In total, pilots in the United States have reported 313 eye injuries since the FAA began keeping statistics on the subject in 2010.