ALPA Shines Spotlight on Laser Illuminations of Aircraft More than 120
people—ALPA safety and security representatives, line pilots, law enforcement
officers, military officers, and representatives of several U.S., Canadian, and
European government agencies and airline managements—gathered today in
Washington, D.C., to share information about the growing problem of laser
illumination of aircraft cockpits. ALPA and the Air Transport Association
cosponsored the conference, titled, “Laser Illumination of Aircraft: A Growing
Threat.”
Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) discussed his bill (H.R. 386), passed earlier this
year by the U.S. House of Representatives, that would make aiming a laser
pointer at an aircraft a federal crime. Asked about other aspects of U.S.
aviation security, Lungren declared, “We are safer now than before 9/11, but we
need to do a better job of telling the public that.”
ALPA’s president, Capt. Lee Moak, praised Lungren’s efforts on behalf of
aviation safety and security and reiterated ALPA’s vigorous support for the
Lungren bill. Moak noted, “One of my earliest initiatives as ALPA’s president
was to develop an action plan in January to deal with [laser illuminations].”
In addition to supporting H.R. 368, Moak recalled, “On
Feb. 4, 2011, the Senate passed an amendment to the FAA reauthorization with
similar language, and we commended Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Sen. Mark
Kirk (R-IL), and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) for championing this amendment.” ALPA
has urged Congress to include this language in the FAA reauthorization bill.
Conference attendees were treated to a series of presentations that covered
the science of lasers, government and industry perspectives, the dangers of
laser illuminations, accounts by airline and helicopter pilots who have been
lased, federal prosecution of laser offenders, and international activities to
thwart this increasingly global threat.
Key messages echoed by all of the presenters included: (1) much more powerful
lasers are now being aimed at cockpits than in the distant past, and (2) a major
solution to the problem is better education of pilots and the public—especially
in reporting laser incidents. Capt. Sean Cassidy, ALPA first vice president and
the Association’s national safety coordinator, concluded, “To echo our
Department of Homeland Security, our bottom line is, ‘If you see something, say
something.’” |