Vance pilots targeted with laser

[Murph]

Idiots

May 1, 2010

Vance pilots targeted by lasers

Three flight crews land safely

By Jeff Mullin, Senior Writer

Enid News and Eagle

ENID — Learning to fly is hard, learning to fly a military aircraft is even harder.

And learning to fly a military aircraft at night is hardest of all.

Because of the fact many combat missions over Iraq and Afghanistan are flown after dark, more emphasis has been placed in recent years on training military student pilots to fly at night.

As a result, every three weeks the men and women earning their wings at Vance Air Force Base do their flying after the sun goes down. The next night flying week at Vance is scheduled to begin Monday.

During a recent night flying week, the difficult and dangerous business of learning to fly at night was made even more difficult and dangerous when three Vance aircraft were the targets of a concentrated beam of green laser light, either from a laser pointer or a laser rifle scope.

All three aircraft, a T-6A Texan II and two T-38s, landed safely, but all six pilots had to report to the Vance Clinic for precautionary eye exams. All were cleared by flight surgeons.

“They were on final turns to come into the base,†said Bob Farrell, Vance’s chief of community relations. “That’s a very critical phase of flight.â€

The aircraft were flying at an altitude about 1,000 feet when their canopies were illuminated by lasers.

“Unfortunately, they were in the worst spot possible when this happened,†said Lt. Col. Ted Weibel, Vance’s chief of safety. “The critical phase of flight, absolutely, is the last 1,000 feet coming in and landing. That’s when the pilots need their eyes the most.â€

If a laser is shined in a motorist’s eyes, he or she can slow down, or stop and pull over until their night vision returns. Pilots have no such option, however.

“I absolutely rely on my eyes for everything in a plane, even though it’s dark outside,†Weibel said. “Without those I am useless as a pilot.â€

Each of the Vance aircraft hit by lasers had two pilots aboard, but about 10 to 15 percent of missions flown each night that week were solos. If a solo pilot was temporarily blinded by a laser, he or she might have no option other than to eject. Military pilots are trained to do their best to point their aircraft away from populated areas if they are forced to eject, but might not have the chance if they find themselves literally flying blind.

“If those guys are temporarily blinded, they don’t know if they are pointing the aircraft at an open field or a shopping center,†Farrell said.

Weibel said laser incidents are rare at Vance, and throughout Air Education and Training Command, but not worldwide. In 2009 there were 1,527 laser illumination incidents reported to Federal Aviation Administration, up from 311 in 2005.

Vance’s incidents were reported to the Enid Police Department, which is investigating in conjunction with Air Force law enforcement personnel.

“It’s a federal crime to do anything that’s going to endanger an aircraft or endanger a pilot who’s operating an aircraft,†said Maj. Jim Annexstad, Vance’s staff judge advocate.

Anyone caught and convicted of shining a laser at an aircraft would face a jail term up to 20 years and a hefty fine, he added.

Vance officials don’t think their aircraft were targeted out of maliciousness, but simply out of ignorance.

“We think it’s an awareness issue,†said Annexstad. “We want the city of Enid to be aware of the safety concerns that it poses for not only our pilots but for the folks downtown. And also to be aware that it’s a crime, which they might not be aware of. It is definitely a serious, serious issue.â€

Vance officials don’t think their planes were targeted by someone with a hand-held laser pointer designed for use by lecturers, but rather by a rifle-mounted laser scope.

“I have a fairly steady hand,†Weibel said. “I don’t think I could take an inexpensive laser and pin it on a plane a mile or two away from me. We think it would take a fairly high quality laser to get a plane.â€

A laser striking an aircraft’s cockpit is refracted and diffused by the canopy and by tiny particles of dust in the air. The light temporarily robs the pilot of his night vision and has the potential to cause eye damage.

“It is a major distraction when it hits a windshield, or it hits a canopy and hits something reflective and it starts bouncing around, it is very disorienting to have to deal with,†Weibel said. “It’s kind of like being in a European disco, with lights going every which way and you don’t know what’s going on.â€

Navy Lt. Andrew Parsons, a flight surgeon with the Vance Clinic, said laser pointers can cause permanent eye damage.

“In addition to the disorienting effect, it can cause scarring to the cornea, it can cause a cataract and, if the laser is powerful enough, it can get to the retina,†said Parsons. “If the retina gets damaged, that’s what leads to permanent vision loss, which is a possibility in this case.â€

Farrell urged anyone who witnesses someone shining a laser at a Vance aircraft to confront the person and tell them it is not only dangerous, but illegal, or simply to contact the Enid Police Department. He said Vance’s pilots have been able to pinpoint a couple of possible locations from which the lasers originated.

“The issue is not to try to go after them, the issue is to prevent further incidents,†Farrell said.

[Koen L]

They were stupid enough to do that with an Apache once near where I live. Of course the Apache just followed them untill the police arrived. :lol:

[Vpanoptes]

Idiots

Strongly Agree (the idiots part)

“The issue is not to try to go after them, the issue is to prevent further incidents,†Farrell said.

Strongly disagee. The not-to-go-after-them part.

[Murph]

At a 1,000 feet AGL they are 1/3 of the way through the final turn, in 45 degrees of bank, with a downward VVI of around 3,000 FPM, and this is at night. It's very fortunate that somebody didn't crash.

[Sebastijan]

similar thing happened at out main international airport recently with someone targeting airliner cockpits. Unfortunately the offenders were never found, and it was kind of weird to read the released NOTAM of such occurence possible in the finals...

[drhornii]

Is there a coating that can be applied to eliminate or soften the laser beam intensity? I cannot imagine trainers with this but hopefully aircraft that go into combat are protected.

Bottom line, this should not be happening, especially in our own country.

[Hawkeye's Hobbies]

Is there a coating that can be applied to eliminate or soften the laser beam intensity? I cannot imagine trainers with this but hopefully aircraft that go into combat are protected.

Bottom line, this should not be happening, especially in our own country.

Special goggles, but at night you don't want to restrict ambient light any more than it already is.

This is not just something that happens to military aviators but to airline pilots as well. If you take a laser pointer and aim it at a reflective surface like a Stop sign you can see how it really lights up the sign. Same happens with canopies and windshields on aircraft because of their laminate construction. The multi layers of plastic reflect the energy back and forth between them causing the whole canopy/windshield to illuminate.

This also causes a eye concerns for the pilots and passengers. Blinding someone intentionally is a crime, so they need to set the precedence that they will hunt down and arrest the offenders. Point a laser at an aircraft even at a distance isn't difficult once you light it up its easily tracked and pinpointed.

Time to put up a couple of towers or drone with laser sensors to back track the beam to its source...then dispatch the proper authorities. Next they'll be standing on overpasses doing the same thing to cars and trucks...causing pile ups.

My guestimate is, there is no clear black and white law about this....since our legislation only seems to know how to use gray ink when drafting new laws and regulations.

[ChernayaAkula]

Apart from hefty fines and possibly jail terms, idiots like this should get a severe beating. Maybe that'll teach 'em. :lol:

[ventura_kelley]

Idiots or some kind of anti-government whack-jobs thinking they're somehow restoring liberty or something. Either way I totally disagree with the article. They need to be put away. Someone needs to put some teeth into the law regarding this, if it doesn't already have some, and we need to have some high profile prosecutions.

Imagine signing up to serve your country, willing to go to war and sacrifice your life for the things you believe in and love, and some idiot, YOUR FELLOW COUNTRYMEN, blinds you permanently with a laser pointer. Imagine how wasted you'd feel. Imagine how ****** off. Imagine the negative effect this is having on everyone's morale right now.

Someone needs to NAIL these morons to the freaking wall!!!

[ventura_kelley]

Apart from hefty fines and possibly jail terms, idiots like this should get a severe beating. Maybe that'll teach 'em. <_<

Send a GBU down the beam. That'll be the end of that.

They can work both ways, right? Tracking the source if they can see it and the target?

[GreyGhost]

It's probably someone upset with the jet noise at night and it's interfering with them watching American Idol ...

So, they are going to do something about that ... <_<

I do hope they catch the jerk(s) involved and are made an example of in the courts and receive some serious jail time ...

Gregg

[vince14]

Jerks will always be jerks. Seems to me that the solution is to ban the sale/construction/importation of cheap laser pointers. They don't actually contribute anything to mankind, except to blind pilots and make wannabe executives think they're the shizzle by using them in presentations.

Sadly, this won't happen until some unfortunate pilot gets blinded and ends up splattering himself and his passengers all over a field somewhere.

Vince

[richter111]

My concern is how a $5 penlight could completely disrupt a flight.

Remember the best way to take down the ME-262 was at take off or landing

Imagine a couple of terrorists pulling this crap.

[ventura_kelley]

It's probably someone upset with the jet noise at night and it's interfering with them watching American Idol ...

So, they are going to do something about that ... <_<

I do hope they catch the jerk(s) involved and are made an example of in the courts and receive some serious jail time ...

Gregg

I hope so, but remember that is the state where Timothy McVeigh blew up the federal building (source), where the state legislature is working to create a volunteer army to fight the US government (source: Tulsa World), and the area where the anti-military Westboro Baptist church (the people that protest at dead soldier's funerals) operates.

A WBC member and child protesting homosexuality at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church

I've got family there and they say the hatred toward the US Government and Military is stronger now than it was ever was during Vietnam. It is not a good time to be a soldier serving in that area.

But I hope this is just part of a noise complaint, because I can't imagine how hard it is for the families of these soldiers, knowing that they're living in an area where their own countrymen hate them enough to try to kill their sons/daughters/mothers/fathers/etc. Tough enough when it's someone in Iraq or Afghanistan. Imagine it being your own countrymen.

[Lenny]

Some dopes were doing the same thing to planes landing in Austin. Thanksfully they were dumb enough to shoot at a police helo!!!

[Yuri]

It's happening also too much often here in Italy (and with civil aircraft too). I just wonder how such idiot you should be to do such a thing... but just can't imagine!

[Julien (UK)]

Happening here in the UK a lot, there is either a new law or tweek of an existing one which they are getting people on.

The have also tightend up on the sale of these laser devices, though with the internet it is still possible to get them.

Julien

[Hawkeye's Hobbies]

Until there is an example set, that is given the perpetrator a severe sentence, this kind of stuff will continue to happen. An eye for an eye, let them walk around blind for a year and see how they like it. I say toss them into the dungeon of a prison with no lights for a year...let them experience what they reap. But this is the land of plea bargains and where convicts have more civil rights than the victims. A toothless dog has more bite than the law in many cases.

[Fishwelding]

Jerks will always be jerks. Seems to me that the solution is to ban the sale/construction/importation of cheap laser pointers. They don't actually contribute anything to mankind, except to blind pilots and make wannabe executives think they're the shizzle by using them in presentations.

I second the resolution. With any hope, it might also add just a little more to the guerrilla war against power-point enthusiasts, too.

I'm very glad no one was hurt, and I must admit, the Air Force strikes me as very charitable about this situation. If one was caught with a shooting laser without the firearm attached, could it still be considered a "weapon" as a component of such? Is it illegal in Oklahoma to point weapons at people?

Come to think of it, I don't know if it's illegal to point, but not shoot weapons at people at all.

[wellzy]

I agree they are mindless idiots we have the same thing on the railways in the UK ,

[drhornii]

I hope so, but remember that is the state where Timothy McVeigh blew up the federal building (source), where the state legislature is working to create a volunteer army to fight the US government (source: Tulsa World), and the area where the anti-military Westboro Baptist church (the people that protest at dead soldier's funerals) operates.

A WBC member and child protesting homosexuality at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church

I've got family there and they say the hatred toward the US Government and Military is stronger now than it was ever was during Vietnam. It is not a good time to be a soldier serving in that area.

I have been in Oklahoma since 1972 and I can say there is currently more love & support for the military than most places I have seen. If you want anti military, that would be the San Fransisco area & Berkley.

Tim McVeigh was not from Oklahoma, he just came here. The Westboro Baptist guys are in Kansas (about 5 hour drive from Vance) and general area......and as a volunteer army, I have not heard of one but I rarely read the Tulsa World for numerous reasons.......unless I need to look at the classifieds.

Funny think about the Westboro group, their zip code starts with 666 <_<

Edited May 11, 2010 by drhornii

[ventura_kelley]

I have been in Oklahoma since 1972 and I can say there is currently more love & support for the military than most places I have seen. If you want anti military, that would be the San Fransisco area & Berkley.

Tim McVeigh was not from Oklahoma, he just came here. The Westboro Baptist guys are in Kansas (about 5 hour drive from Vance) and general area......and as a volunteer army, I have not heard of one but I rarely read the Tulsa World for numerous reasons.......unless I need to look at the classifieds.

Funny think about the Westboro group, their zip code starts with 666 :D

My cousin (ex-marine) defends the funerals from the protesters, so maybe I'm hearing the worst of it. But I do know from him that the Westboro people are VERY active in Oklahoma.

That is incredibly ironic.

[ventura_kelley]

I have been in Oklahoma since 1972

Do you know what happened to Wings N' Things and OK Hobbies? I couldn't find either last time I was there.

[spejic]

If you want anti military, that would be the San Fransisco area & Berkley.

The Bay Area's and even Berkeley's supposed anti-military stance is way overblown. The most we'd do is hire the professional protesters to go picket outside the recruiting office for a while until the cost started cutting into our weed money.

And without the Berkeley Ace Hardware, we wouldn't have a place to go buy models.

[Fishwelding]

The Bay Area's and even Berkeley's supposed anti-military stance is way overblown. The most we'd do is hire the professional protesters to go picket outside the recruiting office for a while until the cost started cutting into our weed money.

And without the Berkeley Ace Hardware, we wouldn't have a place to go buy models.

But hey, it's the internet. So stereotypes are de rigueur. (is that how that's spelled? Google Chrome has no idea, and neither do I). Whether politics are involved, especially on this forum, is moot. What genuinely surprises me about your area, from what I learned by listening to tech-news podcasts, is that your weather isn't the classic "sunny" image of California we've all come to expect from seeing LA in the movies. Short of heavy snowfall, it sounds cool and damp.

Broadly speaking, and to anyone who knows, (stay away from specifics, if it might get you in trouble at work), do anti-aircraft systems use lasers to target? My question is, outside of this problem, has it been worth developing countermeasures and are there such systems available?

Edited May 11, 2010 by Fishwelding