Federal Aviation Administration reports laser pointing at aircraft has jumped more than 40% from 2020 to 2021!

Houston, Texas (KTRK) – The Federal Aviation Administration said laser guidance on aircraft jumped more than 40% from 2020 to 2021.

The recent arrests here in Houston are proof of that statistic.

Police arrested two men this week and a third last week for using a high-powered laser against planes and helicopters.

ABC13 has submitted a report to the Federal Aviation Administration after an incident involving our SkyEye13 helicopter while covering traffic on Wednesday morning.

“It’s scary to think about what a small laser pointer can do,” SkyEye reporter Tami Rose said.

She was in the passenger seat doing an early morning rush hour traffic report when she saw a green laser hitting the helicopter in the air.

READ MORE: ABC13’s SkyEye Dangerous Laser Pointer Targets While Flying Over Traffic in Southeast Houston

“For the pilot, if he were temporarily blinded and disoriented, he could easily lose control of the plane and possibly crash,” said Rose, who suffered from blurred vision after the laser hit the helicopter’s rear window.

She said the pilot was able to flip the helicopter so the laser couldn’t hit the cockpit windows, but she said the laser attack continues.

“He was doing it for ten minutes,” Rose said. “Obviously he was targeting our plane.”

The incident follows the arrest of two others in Houston this week.

Jesus Pena and Jorge Olsen are arrested for pointing a laser at a Houston police helicopter.

Ground HPD units were called and spotted the two men passing the laser back and forth while standing outside.

See also: Man arrested for pointing lasers at planes has criminal warrants

Just last week, one of the men, Jordan Jackson, was arrested and charged with pointing a laser at two planes and a helicopter in November 2021.

“The police claim that you gave them a statement saying you put the laser on the police helicopter, I assume you knew it was a police helicopter, because it was hovering in the area and you were upset because it was in the area,” said the coroner in court.

The Federal Aviation Administration said that in 2021, more than 9,700 laser strikes were reported.

This is a 41% increase from 2020.

In 2022, they said they had already received more than 5,000 reports as of July 31.

“Lasers can distract the pilot and can even temporarily blind the pilot,” said Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

The three men arrested in Houston are charged with lighting a plane with a laser, which is a misdemeanor, but could face up to a year in prison and a $4,000 fine.

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