Laserpekere er livsfarlige - Curt Lewis

British Airways jet attacked with laser pen as pilot prepares to land at Heathrow Airport

Flight BA759 from Bergen in Norway was targeted by the green laser on at 9.20pm on Monday evening - raising fresh safety fears

A laser was shone into the cockpit of the BA flight (file picture)

A British Airways flight fell victim to a laser pen attack while making its final approach to Heathrow airport tonight.

Flight BA759 from Bergen was targeted by the green laser on at 9.20pm on Monday evening.

The attack raises fresh concerns over the potentially fatal consequences of laser pen attacks on passenger jets as they take off and land at UK airports.

A former US Navy pilot warned earlier this year that an increasing number of such incidents could lead to a "terrible tragedy."

Dr Steve Schallhorn, who is Chief Medical Director at Optical Express and a former US Navy pilot, said there needed to be more education about the irreversible eye injuries that can be caused by laser pens.

Pilots at Birmingham Airport are facing more than one potentially-deadly laser pen attack every week - the worst outside of London.

The BA flight was approaching Heathrow Airport when it was attacked

A pilots' union called last month for the lasers to be classified as "offensive weapons" after a New York-bound plane had to turn back to Heathrow Airport after being targeted by yobs.

The West London airport is the only site in the UK where pilots suffer more attacks than Birmingham, the Birmingham Mail reports .

The latest available figures show that pilots flying out of Heathrow were targeted 48 times in the first six months of 2015, whilst there were 32 attacks at Birmingham.

"Laser attacks on pilots are exploding and could lead to a terrible tragedy if people continue to target aircraft," Dr Schallhorn, one of the world's top ophthalmologists, said.

"The problem is that I'm not sure that people who misuse powerful laser pens actually understand the harmful effect they can have on vision.

"Sudden exposure to a laser beam during a critical phase of flight such as take-off or landing could seriously distract or disorient a pilot, causing a disruption in concentration or instrument scanning.

"And when viewed directly, powerful lasers can cause irreversible eye injury by burning the retina.

"The severity of injury depends on the amount of radiation that enters the eye and the length of exposure, but you only need to look at a laser beam for a few seconds to suffer devastating damage.

"Other possible side-effects include glare, which can cause reduced vision, and flash blindness, which obliterates a portion or all of a pilot's visual field and cause the occurrence of after images.

"Flash blindness is similar to but much more intense than the reaction to a strobe flash from a camera or the reflection of bright sunlight from a window, windshield or mirror - and it lasts much longer."

ApexLaser PenLaser: Authorities have warned that the pens can be potentially dangerous
According to the Civil Aviation Authority , almost 9,000 laser incidents were reported across the UK between January 2009 and June 2015.

It is illegal to shine a light at an aircraft in flight so as to dazzle or distract the pilot.

Dr Schallhorn, who trained fighter pilots while he was in the US Navy, also urged caution over the purchase and use of laser pens.

He added: "Laser pens should be bought from reputable retailers and those who already own laser pens to ensure they follow the safety instructions.

"As these devices are increasingly powerful, I would urge anyone who thinks they have looked at a laser to consult an optometrist.

"Those who have suffered laser exposure should also refrain from rubbing their eye and possibly inducing further injury."