Extremely unlikely a laser beam would have caused any kind of damage to the pilot's eye for many, many reasons. Most likely the beam lit up the cockpit ceiling for a fraction of a second and the flash startled the pilot.
It happened back in 97 or 98. Commander Daly I believe. He even saw the plane that did it to him IIRC. I think he has a permanent disability.
Gertz said the pilot suffered eye injury.
No, this was not a startled pilot. A laser illuminated the cockpit and injured his eyesight according to the report.
Greatland laser makes laser I carry in survival kits..... laser flare is the moniker they assigned to the device. It'll light up an AC from some distance for signaling purposes from the ground.
http://www.greatlandlaser.com/
Stay safe !
A laser fired from the earth would not "light up the cockpit" as you suggest. Actually, the pilot, whose line of sight aligned with the laser, would experience a painful sensation as his retinal tissues were dameged (burned). For those on this thread who have scoffed or suggested that this is not possible, I assure them that it is quite possible and has in fact been done before. It would take a powerful (CO2, HeNe, or Ar) laser, with a significant power source to do this, but it is do-able to be sure.