BUFFALO, NY - 2 On Your Side is learning more about a reported laser strike on an airplane that was flying over the Jamestown Airport. The FAA says on Wednesday around 10:45 p.m., the pilot of a FedEx plane noticed a beam of light from the ground directed at the plane.
The FAA reports that a pilot flying a FedEx Boeing 757 says he noticed a green beam of light coming from a laser on the ground lighting up the aircraft. Police say the plane was 23,000 feet in the air.
"If people are just thinking it's funny to shoot lasers at airplanes or a passing motor vehicle it's very dangerous," said Brad Knight, a detective with the Ellicott Police Department.
The FAA says once the pilot reported seeing the laser beam, Ellicott Police, stationed nearby were notified. Officers responded to a rural field off airport grounds.
"They checked that area and there were no indications they could find a subject there," Knight said.
The Jamestown incident is just one of more than 20 planes or helicopters the FAA says were struck by lasers Wednesday night, flying over U.S. cities. Three laser strikes were reported in the New York City/New Jersey area, including a laser strike on a news helicopter belonging to WNBC in New York. The chopper was 1,500 feet in the air. Two suspects were taken into custody by police for this incident.
Luckily no injuries were reported in any of the laser incidents.
The problem has been growing as well, the FAA says there were nearly 3,000 laser strikes reported in 2010. This year, already, the FAA says more than 5,000 reports of laser strikes have been made. Police say the best prevention against this behavior is education, shining lasers at aircraft can temporarily blind the pilot and is extremely dangerous. It's also a federal crime.
