Mineta announces laser guidelines for pilots (31 incidents in past 12 days)

CNN ^ | Jan. 12, 2004 | CNN

[FairOpinion]

Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta announced new guidelines on Wednesday for pilots to report incidents in which laser beams are shone in their cockpits during flight, saying there have been 31 such incidents since December 31.

In his announcement in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Mineta said there is no "credible or specific intelligence that would indicate that these laser incidents are connected to terrorists."

He said the incidents seemed to be the work of pranksters.

[FairOpinion]

So how come all pranksters suddenly decided, totally independently of each other, to start shining light at pilots, about a month after the FBI warned, that terrorists will try to use lasers to bring down planes?

[ScottFromSpokane]

Because we have television and the Internet which spread information around the world instantly.

[FairOpinion]

"Mineta said that about 400 laser incidents have been reported since 1990. He suggested the recent rash of incidents was the work of copycats."

400 incidents in 15 years, that's 27 incidents a year.

We just had 31 incidents in 12 DAYS.

[FairOpinion]

Laser warning
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/12/10/laser.warning/index.html

Friday, December 10, 2004 Posted: 2216 GMT (0616 HKT)


A recent memo sent to law enforcement agencies warns that terrorists may attempt to use laser beams to try and blind pilots during landing approaches.

[RandallFlagg]

Hmmm. That would tend to place Mineta's announcement of, "No terrorist connection," in question.

Mineta needs to go bye-bye.

[Centurion2000]

bump

[FairOpinion]

I was hoping that Bush will ask Mineta to leave, but unfortunately he didn't.

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

It is long past time for Mineta to be surgically removed for the Cabinet. Laser surgery?

[Rokke]

Just maybe it could have been the publicity given to this memo that resulted in a rash of copycat incidents. The clown in New Jersey that was lasing aircraft is many things (none of them good) but terrorist is not one of them. The fact that none of these incidents has resulted in any injuries to pilots or passengers viewing the lasers indicates they aren't powerful. And weapons guidance lasers are not visible to the human eye.

[Nipplemancer]

I tend to agree with Rokke. It just seems rather silly that terrorists would try something that's such a longshot at working, just weaks after a terror alert about similar scenarios. Releasing the alert to the public an equally dumb idea.

[rellimpank]

---I've been suspecting something of the sort too--in my mind putting most "laser" stuff in the same category as "dirty" bombs put together out of luminous watch and smoke detector material.

To do damage a laser has to focus energy--more than is going to be emitted from a device held in the hand, powered by flashlight batteries---

[Monti Cello]

Even worse, I think Mineta's family was interned during WWII, reinforcing his ultra-PC tendencies on our position toward aliens.

[mworkman]

--No, Capt Rice, what the public needs to know is the name, origin and political affiliation of the people trying to down our planes and test our defenses.
mw

[PAR35]

The fact that none of these incidents has resulted in any injuries to pilots or passengers

None?

From the story: " the first officer of one plane whose retinas were slightly burned by the laser."

[peyton randolph]

I wonder if Dr. Evil's sharks with lasers are involved?

[txhurl]

And weapons guidance lasers are not visible to the human eye.

bttt

[nw_arizona_granny]

Ping

[FreeKeys]

It would be fairly inexpensive to mount an array of, say, 24 tiny retro-reflectors under the nose of each plane to zap the perps right back (and to help locate them with their own damn laser)! Check THESE out.

[FairOpinion]

I was just reading more about it in another article.

Mineta's solution is for the pilots to just do lots of paperwork and report the incidents and avoid the area.

They should go and identify the origina and go after the perpetrators in real time.

====


"Under the new guidelines issued Wednesday by the Federal Aviation Administration, pilots are to tell air traffic controllers about any laser beam sightings, and controllers will then notify the Domestic Events Network, an FAA-run program that began after the Sept. 11 attacks to keep law enforcement and intelligence agencies apprised of threats to the airspace. The network operates a phone bridge between those agencies that is monitored 24 hours a day.

Once the information comes in, the FAA will be responsible for getting it back out. Pilots in the immediate vicinity will be warned using a radio frequency that pilots dial in to get conditions at airports where they are landing. The system will broadcast a warning for at least one hour after the event.

Upon landing, pilots will complete a detailed form that asks the length of time of exposure, and whether the light seemed to follow or track the plane. The form will go to Domestic Events Network. The FAA added, "Pilots should avoid flight within areas of reported ongoing unauthorized laser activity to the extent practicable."

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-lilase0113,0,1983586.story?coll=ny-top-headlines