Laser pens aimed at aircraft a serious danger, pilot says

Police in Saskatoon are expressing concern about laser pens being pointed at airplanes over the city after two incidents in recent days.

A STARS rescue helicopter encountered a laser light a week ago and on Sunday a police plane was also hit with a high intensity light beam. In both incidents the aircraft landed safely.

"You become extremely disorientated," Sgt. Wade Bourassa, from the Saskatoon Police Service, said about the lights. He was in the air Sunday night when a green light flashed onto his plane.

"You have to close your eyes for a long period of time to protect yourself," he said, adding that leads to a risky situation. "The fear of losing control of an aircraft over a populated city is not something you want to  encounter."

According to police, there are about 20 laser incidents in Saskatoon a year. Bourassa can recall six encounters while he has been flying.

Another concern is that people are trying to interfere with aircraft, especially a police plane, on purpose.

"I think there are some people out there that don't like what the police are doing, because we're effective from the air," Bourassa said.

There are serious penalties for people convicted of pointing a laser at aircraft, with fines of up to $100,000 and even the possibility of a prison sentence of up to five years.

Across Canada, about 350 laser strikes are reported annually.

"The next laser strike could be the one that brings an aircraft down," Bourassa noted.