Calif. Man Gets Prison for Aiming Laser at Planes

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Calif. Man Gets Prison for Aiming Laser at Planes

Posted: 11/3/2009 3:52:36 AM EDT

Calif. Man Gets Prison for Aiming Laser at Planes
Tuesday, November 03, 2009

LOS ANGELES — A Southern California man who aimed a laser beam at two airliners as they approached an airport has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in federal prison for disrupting the flights.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles says Dana Christian Welch of Orange, who was sentenced Monday, was the first person in the U.S. to be convicted at trial of interfering with pilots by aiming lasers at their planes.

Authorities say the 37-year-old aimed a handheld laser at two Boeing jets as the passenger planes were about to land at John Wayne Airport on the night of May 21, 2008.

The laser beam struck one pilot in the eye, causing "flash blindness," and interfered with pilots' ability to land the other plane.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571246,00.html?test=latestnews

Posted: 11/3/2009 3:59:29 AM EDT

[#1]

Quoted:

The laser beam struck one pilot in the eye, causing "flash blindness," and interfered with pilots' ability to land the other plane.

I can understand how that could be difficult.

Posted: 11/3/2009 4:00:54 AM EDT

[#2]

Buy all the handheld pointers you can folks.

They're gonna ban 'em someday.

Posted: 11/3/2009 2:30:34 PM EDT

[#3]

Stupid games win Stupid prizes

Posted: 11/3/2009 2:31:20 PM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:

Quoted:

The laser beam struck one pilot in the eye, causing "flash blindness," and interfered with pilots' ability to land the other plane.

I can understand how that could be difficult.

my thoughts exactly

Posted: 11/3/2009 2:36:52 PM EDT

[#5]

Stupid for sure, but damned if it's not hard to wake up in California and not have broken one law or another. I wonder what motivates people to point lasers at aircraft is it "hey hold mah beer and watch this yuk yuk" trying to crash a plane or what?

Posted: 11/3/2009 2:38:40 PM EDT

[#6]

Good

Posted: 11/3/2009 2:43:50 PM EDT

[#7]

He ought to get the "dumbshit" enhancement.

Posted: 11/3/2009 2:53:09 PM EDT

[#8]

Bout 11 years ago when we were 7 my cousin and I got a pair of cheapo walkie talkies and a fighter simulator/game, falcon 4.0 for Christmas. One of the things they said in the game a lot was "archer inbound" which meant a missile was being fired at you or whatever. Well we were messing around and we somehow managed to get an airplane on the thing- maybe $30 radios. It was saying things like "bearing 02393924" and mostly listing numbers and shit, and being 7 we said "archer inbound" and the pilot was like "what the fuck"
then we hid in our fort because we thought the FBI was going to come after us

Posted: 11/3/2009 2:57:07 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:

Stupid for sure, but damned if it's not hard to wake up in California and not have broken one law or another. I wonder what motivates people to point lasers at aircraft is it "hey hold mah beer and watch this yuk yuk" trying to crash a plane or what?

Its been a law for a while and a good one too. Unless you like crashed airplanes.

People were also shining them on cops, making them understandably nervous, think laser sight.

Posted: 11/3/2009 3:22:47 PM EDT

[#10]

Anyone with half a brain would know better than doing something like that. Unfortunately, as we've recently seen, 52% of the population has less than that amount of gray matter.

Posted: 11/3/2009 3:24:55 PM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:

Anyone with half a brain would know better than doing something like that. Unfortunately, as we've recently seen, 52% of the population has less than that amount of gray matter.

Yep, just hit youtube, search a bit, and see what the mouth breathers are like now.

Posted: 11/3/2009 3:28:12 PM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
Buy all the handheld pointers you can folks.

They're gonna ban 'em someday.

Which is why I got my 90Mw green laser that can pop ballons and light matches. That thing is scarry cool.

Posted: 11/3/2009 3:32:33 PM EDT

[#13]

2 and a half years seems like a low amount of time for what amounts to over 260 counts of attempted murder. And that's just how many people were on the planes. Countless lives endangered on the ground as well.

Posted: 11/3/2009 3:39:04 PM EDT

[#14]

Good. Lasing us here can get you shot, just saying.

Posted: 11/3/2009 3:45:54 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
Bout 11 years ago when we were 7 my cousin and I got a pair of cheapo walkie talkies and a fighter simulator/game, falcon 4.0 for Christmas. One of the things they said in the game a lot was "archer inbound" which meant a missile was being fired at you or whatever. Well we were messing around and we somehow managed to get an airplane on the thing- maybe $30 radios. It was saying things like "bearing 02393924" and mostly listing numbers and shit, and being 7 we said "archer inbound" and the pilot was like "what the fuck"
then we hid in our fort because we thought the FBI was going to come after us

Did something similar but with the po-po. Whaddya expect from little kids who are 7?

Posted: 11/3/2009 3:47:17 PM EDT

[#16]

how did they possibly find the guy that was shinning the laser? wouldnt that be like finding a needle in a hay stack?

Posted: 11/3/2009 3:50:42 PM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
Anyone with half a brain would know better than doing something like that. Unfortunately, as we've recently seen, 52% of the population has less than that amount of gray matter.

But it really wasn't 52%.

It was probably more like 40%, and another 4 percent who voted three times.

Posted: 11/3/2009 3:54:15 PM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:

how did they possibly find the guy that was shinning the laser? wouldnt that be like finding a needle in a hay stack?

Depends who he shines it at...

Lasers point both ways on FLIR & NVGs....

Posted: 11/3/2009 3:54:42 PM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
how did they possibly find the guy that was shinning the laser? wouldnt that be like finding a needle in a hay stack?

Didn't you see that one episode of CSI?

Posted: 11/3/2009 3:59:50 PM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
Bout 11 years ago when we were 7 my cousin and I got a pair of cheapo walkie talkies and a fighter simulator/game, falcon 4.0 for Christmas. One of the things they said in the game a lot was "archer inbound" which meant a missile was being fired at you or whatever. Well we were messing around and we somehow managed to get an airplane on the thing- maybe $30 radios. It was saying things like "bearing 02393924" and mostly listing numbers and shit, and being 7 we said "archer inbound" and the pilot was like "what the fuck"
then we hid in our fort because we thought the FBI was going to come after us

Sure ya did

Posted: 11/3/2009 4:01:53 PM EDT

[#21]

crap.. My hand shakes so bad at 20 ft with a laser it looks like a light show... how could someone possibly hit the eyes of a pilot at 300 mph from the ground on purpose... more govt BS

Posted: 11/3/2009 4:13:19 PM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:
Calif. Man Gets Prison for Aiming Laser at Planes

................planes were about to land at John Wayne Airport on the night of May 21, 2008.

The Duke doesn't put up with that.

Posted: 11/3/2009 4:15:50 PM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:

crap.. My hand shakes so bad at 20 ft with a laser it looks like a light show... how could someone possibly hit the eyes of a pilot at 300 mph from the ground on purpose... more govt BS

They were on approach which I am not an aviation expert but I assume is somewhere between 130-150kts probably about 1000 to 2500 feet off the ground maybe a little higher.

Posted: 11/3/2009 4:16:59 PM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:
Stupid for sure, but damned if it's not hard to wake up in California and not have broken one law or another. I wonder what motivates people to point lasers at aircraft is it "hey hold mah beer and watch this yuk yuk" trying to crash a plane or what?

Federal law, federal crime, federal trial, federal prison - amazing that the federal government found time to outlaw pointing laser pointers at aircraft. But not as amazing at this dumb ass who bothered to point the laser at the aircraft.

Posted: 11/3/2009 4:23:15 PM EDT

[#25]

Quoted:

Quoted:
crap.. My hand shakes so bad at 20 ft with a laser it looks like a light show... how could someone possibly hit the eyes of a pilot at 300 mph from the ground on purpose... more govt BS

They were on approach which I am not an aviation expert but I assume is somewhere between 130-150kts probably about 1000 to 2500 feet off the ground maybe a little higher.

ok... 150 to 175 mph... I sure couldnt do it... and wouldnt... stupid anyway..

Posted: 11/3/2009 4:27:15 PM EDT

[#26]

its not that hard to point and hit a plane with a laser. we're not talking about your $5 red laser pointer, most of the time people are using green lasers, the entire beam is visible, they are easy to point and hold steady, we used them in Astronomy class for pointing out stars and what not.

one way or another I'm happy to see someone finally go to jail over this, hopefully it will make the news and be a warning to others.

Quoted:

Which is why I got my 90Mw green laser that can pop ballons and light matches. That thing is scarry cool.

Who made yours? I have been shopping around, though I'm thinking one that can light cigars as well...

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Calif. Man Gets Prison for Aiming Laser at Planes

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