Call it sadistic pleasure or childish behavior, laser attacks have been on an increase, specifically targeting medical air transport. The laser pointers that are priced at just a few dollars can cause havoc on the pilot’s vision, especially when attending to emergencies at nighttime.
It’s not just medical air transport vehicles that have been targeted; even commercial airliners have had problems with these laser pointer attacks. Just in September last year, several airplanes had to change routes because of repeated laser attacks.
Ornge Medical Air Transport was the Latest Victim
The incident occurred at about 11 p.m. last Saturday. The pilot of the medical air transport vehicle immediately felt unease and there was confusion for a few tense moments. Thankfully there was no patient onboard during the time. However, the crew of the medical air transport chopper were in some serious danger. The Norfolk County Police Department is now looking for the culprit.
It must be noted that flashing laser intentionally on air transport vehicle or any other aircraft for that matter is an offence punishable by fine and imprisonment. Almost all countries around the world face this problem and cases of conviction for this misdeed are found world-over.
It is Not Hard to Locate the Laser Attackers
Every year, we find several laser attacks being reported and most of them are caught. What the perpetrators of this crime do not realize is that their location can be tracked easily. Advanced aircrafts are equipped with locators that can pinpoint the exact location of the culprits.
Often, medical air transport helicopters or police helicopters take the help of such advanced vehicles that fly at the same time to zero down on such people. The locators can even point to the apartment from where the laser light is shot. While in most cases, people don’t intend to cause serious damage, they don’t realize the serious repercussion this action can have.
