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From a mountain, higher skyscraper or when the plane banked?

Wouldn't the lower part of the nose of the plane limit line of sight to the eyes of the pilots mostly buried around non-light transmitting materials?

I'd think that the angle of the windshields would pose a slight distorting problem, too.

Seems to me the laser would have to be more potent than the average available at Radio Shack???

Stretching my awareness here.

Thanks for your knowledgeable inputs.

Can be done from the ground, hence, its simplicity and effectiveness. The Puget Sound incident I referred to was from a freighter on the ocean. The plane was no doubt flying much lower than 33k feet as it was within 15 miles of Vancouver Intl airport and 70 miles from various US military airstrips in Northern Washington State.

>Wouldn't the lower part of the nose of the plane limit line of sight to the eyes of the pilots mostly buried around non-light transmitting materials?

Certainly, but that doesn't mean that it came from forward of the aircraft, or if it did it may have been far enough away that it could have come straight through the forward windscreen. Though some will tell you that you can't see out of the front of the aircraft in "straight and level flight", it is a ..... misstatement. How else are you going to see the airport in front of you, or a thunderstorm if you can't see over the nose. Now I've been high enough that I couldn't see the airport in front of me, but that is another story.

>Seems to me the laser would have to be more potent than the average available at Radio Shack???

Sure it would, but there is no shortage of such lasers in the world. They are used for lots of different purposes, besides harassing pilots. Thoughts of chasing coeds from across campus with a laser in my night physics lab dance through my head from 30 years ago (but such actions would get me arrested now). Lasers were pretty "exotic" back then, but now anyone can acquire them.

Don't ever assume that it couldn't have been self-inflicted either. Pilots, being the technoids that we are, are attracted by such "pretty things". I'm aware of one of my brethren that "fried" himself with a taser (different than a laser, but potentially as nasty), that he carried in his flight bag, and the results were far too delicious to share with the general population. It is enough to say that a laser is quite ubiquitous and can be found anywhere and be possessed by anyone.

As common as these devices are, I would not instantly assume that this was an act of terror or sabotage. There are far too many careless and foolish people in the world to suspect first.