Laser mot fly - USA

FBI offers $10,000 reward to combat aircraft 'lasing'


The FBI has launched a 90-day nationwide campaign offering rewards of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of people who point lasers at aircraft.

The FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began tracking incidents in which people deliberately targeted aircraft with handheld lasers, known as "lasing," and found more than 1,000-percent increase over the past nine years, according to the FBI.

Over the past year and a half, there have been 66 lasing incidents reported near the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport; 481 in Los Angeles; and 297 in San Francisco, according to the FBI.

The FBI, FAA and the Air Line Pilots Association International say that every incident poses a serious risk to the safety of airline pilots, passengers and people on the ground. Pilots say the laser light produces a flash similar to that of a camera when it hits the cockpit, illuminating the inside of the cabin in blinding flashes and occasionally causing permanent damage to the pilots' eyes.