BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Laser strikes increasingly have caused issues for pilots in the air, and California leads the nation with the most strikes so far in 2024, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
- Video shows the impacts of the laser strikes in the cockpit
- The Federal Aviation Administration reported the highest number of illegal laser strikes in 2023.
- California leads the nation in the total number of air strikes in 2024.
- Local pilot, Ryan Crowl, says he's experienced laser strikes twice, and he tells 23ABC it causes safety risks for the pilots and the passengers on board.
Laser strikes continue to be a problem across the nation, but here in California, one local pilot tells me the impacts in the cockpit can create a safety hazard for everyone on board.
Before the plane ever takes off, the pilot goes through a series of checks to ensure everything on the air craft works properly.
“Engine fire. Right engine fire,” the automated voice on the plane said.
“That’s a test that it’s doing to check all the fire warning systems,” Ryan Crowl, a pilot and president of Loyd's Aviation, explained.
When everything looks good inside the plane, something can always go wrong outside the pilot’s control.
“Right now, we’re getting hit pretty good with a green laser,” a pilot said in video provided by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Shining a laser at an airplane can start as a narrow beam on the ground but expands to fill the entire cockpit or even larger.
It’s a problem Crowl says he’s experienced twice.
“It’s actually quite painful.”
Crowl says pilots dim the lights in the cockpit during evening flights to improve their night vision.
He says it takes about 20 minutes for his eyes to full adjust to the darkness.
“It usually happens on approach to landing, so that means we’re five minutes or less from landing and we get hit by a laser, and it ruins our night vision and we don’t have time to recover,” he said.
Crowl says the strikes can result in damage to the pilot’s eyes, putting not only the pilot at risk but the crew and passengers as well.
“Bottom line, lasers and aircraft don’t mix," Mike Whitaker, the FAA administrator, said. "If you have a laser, please use it responsibly and never point it at an aircraft.”
The Federal Aviation Administrationreported a record breaking 13,304 dangerous laser strikes across the country in 2023.
California leads the nation so far in 2024 with 855 laser strikes as of the end of July.
“I, honestly, don’t think the people that most people that are doing it understand how dangerous it is,” Crowl said.
In 2024, 28 of the California laser strikes came out of Bakersfield.
For context, Bakersfield alone produces a higher number of incidents than some entire states in the United States, and if you get caught shining a laser at a plane, it can cost you up to $11,000 per violation and up to five years in prison.
“It’s not just fun and games," he said. "There are real people’s lives that are being affected by that.”
You can report air strikes to the FAA here.
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