Call for EU to ban use of blinding laser lights
Source: Agencies |
October 11, 2011, Tuesday
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EUROCONTROL, the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation, has urged the European Union to criminalize the use of lasers to blind pilots and air traffic controllers - a growing problem in both Europe and the US that experts warn could lead to a crash.
The air traffic agency said yesterday there were 4,266 such incidents in Europe last year, compared with just 1,048 in 2008. In the US, the number of incidents nearly doubled from 1,527 in 2009 to 2,836 last year.
A total of 120 airports in 32 European nations have been affected, Eurocontrol safety expert Dragica Stankovic said.
"Preventing and mitigating the current problem requires a harmonized approach throughout Europe," she said. "We need the full involvement of regulators, judicial authorities, police, airlines and their associations, air navigation service providers, laser manufacturers who must understand how serious the problem is, as well as research institutes."
Interference with commercial airlines is already a federal crime in the US and in some European nations such as Sweden and Austria.
But most European Union states do not have such laws.
Typically, after police find and arrest the attackers, they will question and then free them, Stankovic said at a conference dedicated to the problem and involving the European Commission, the United Nations aviation agency the International Civil Aviation Organization, airlines' and pilots' associations, as well as national police authorities.
Incidents of laser interference generally involve people directing powerful laser beams at aircraft on take-off or on landing. In several recent cases, pilots have been forced to hand the controls to co-pilots after being temporarily blinded.
While the so-called green lasers now in use can temporarily blind pilots, the more powerful blue lasers, which are now commercially available, could cause permanent vision impairment, Eurocontrol warned.
Helicopters, such as police and ambulance or rescue vehicles, are especially vulnerable to laser attacks because they fly at lower altitudes. There have also been instances when lasers were directed at air traffic control towers.
Eurocontrol said because of the danger posed by the handheld devices, which are readily available and cost just a few hundred euros, they should be subject to the same restrictions as firearms.
Stankovic said. "EU legislation should cover the purchase, the carriage and the use of lasers, exactly in the same way as for handguns, rifles and other weapons."
The idea of dazzling pilots by shining searchlights at an aircraft originated in military circles in the 1930s. The technique was used during World War II and the Berlin airlift.
The air traffic agency said yesterday there were 4,266 such incidents in Europe last year, compared with just 1,048 in 2008. In the US, the number of incidents nearly doubled from 1,527 in 2009 to 2,836 last year.
A total of 120 airports in 32 European nations have been affected, Eurocontrol safety expert Dragica Stankovic said.
"Preventing and mitigating the current problem requires a harmonized approach throughout Europe," she said. "We need the full involvement of regulators, judicial authorities, police, airlines and their associations, air navigation service providers, laser manufacturers who must understand how serious the problem is, as well as research institutes."
Interference with commercial airlines is already a federal crime in the US and in some European nations such as Sweden and Austria.
But most European Union states do not have such laws.
Typically, after police find and arrest the attackers, they will question and then free them, Stankovic said at a conference dedicated to the problem and involving the European Commission, the United Nations aviation agency the International Civil Aviation Organization, airlines' and pilots' associations, as well as national police authorities.
Incidents of laser interference generally involve people directing powerful laser beams at aircraft on take-off or on landing. In several recent cases, pilots have been forced to hand the controls to co-pilots after being temporarily blinded.
While the so-called green lasers now in use can temporarily blind pilots, the more powerful blue lasers, which are now commercially available, could cause permanent vision impairment, Eurocontrol warned.
Helicopters, such as police and ambulance or rescue vehicles, are especially vulnerable to laser attacks because they fly at lower altitudes. There have also been instances when lasers were directed at air traffic control towers.
Eurocontrol said because of the danger posed by the handheld devices, which are readily available and cost just a few hundred euros, they should be subject to the same restrictions as firearms.
Stankovic said. "EU legislation should cover the purchase, the carriage and the use of lasers, exactly in the same way as for handguns, rifles and other weapons."
The idea of dazzling pilots by shining searchlights at an aircraft originated in military circles in the 1930s. The technique was used during World War II and the Berlin airlift.
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