[Squantos]

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 !

[FairOpinion]

Apparently even low power lasers, as those used as laser pointers can cause problems.

"CASE REPORTS. From January
1996 to July 1999, the FAA’s Western-Pacific Region identified more than 150 incidents in which low-flying
aircraft were illuminated by lasers. Laser pointers were used in the majority of these incidents, and there were
several occurrences of visual impairment to the pilot. Representative examples of documented reports are
presented that involved the illumination of civilian flight crewmembers by these hand-held devices.
CONCLUSIONS. Laser pointers have caused ocular injury and may compromise aviation safety when used
to illuminate aircraft in critical phases of flight."


http://www.hf.faa.gov/docs/508/docs/cami/0107.pdf

[Kirkwood]

Can't cause damage to the pilot's eyes. The beam has to enter the pupil of the eye, so that means the pilot has to be looking at the source. The distance from the plane is likely miles and so the light is attenuated by atmospheric effects and the square of the distance from the source, plus it is affected by reflection according to Lambert's law (cosine law) on striking the window. In addition, blinding lasers are going to be either UV or IR and therefore invisible to the pilot. The pilot is behind UV and IR absorbing cockpit windows. If anything did happen, it was a simply a flash that temporarily saturated the photoreceptors of the eye (like a bright camera flash). Any affect on vision will be temporary.