Feds Investigate Laser Pointer Incidents at Newark Liberty Airport in Essex County

Federal officials are investigating alleged laser-pointing incidents at Newark Liberty International Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration stated that two flights reported lasers were pointed at them on Sunday night, according to an Associated Press report.

Crew members from an ExpressJet flight and a Shuttle America flight landing around 9 p.m. stated that they noticed the red lasers about 20 miles southwest of the airport.

No injuries were reported in connection with Sunday’s incidents.

Newark had 28 reported laser-pointing incidents last year but only three this year through February, the report stated.

In comparison, LaGuardia Airport has 21 reported laser-pointing incidents in the first two months this year, with 41 reported for all of 2014.

LASER POINTER ARRESTS

In 2014, the FBI announced a crackdown on “lasing” – shining light from devices like laser pointers at aircraft – an activity the federal agency said is on the rise.

According to an FBI news release, there were almost 4,000 laser strikes against aircraft in 2013, an average of 11 incidents per day.

“Aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft is a serious matter and a violation of federal law,” stated Ron Hosko, assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “It is important that people understand that this is a criminal act with potentially deadly repercussions.”

Recent lasing incidents include:

• In March, a pilot on an Air Canada commercial airliner and two New York police officers on a helicopter reported eye injuries from a laser beam pointed at aircraft flying into and out of LaGuardia Airport.
• In January, an unknown person shone a laser into the cockpit of a Delta jet approaching LaGuardia.
• In March of 2014, Delta pilots reported being blinded by a green laser pointer while landing at LaGuardia. According to a report, one of the pilots experienced flash blindness and disrupted vision.