Russian ‘Laser Hooligan’ Attacks on Airline Pilots Rise Tenfold
Laser “hooligans” tried to blind the pilots of two passenger planes landing at an international airport in Moscow today as attacks with light-beam pointers surge in Russia.
The planes touched down safely at Vnukovo airport after unknown assailants aimed laser pointers into the cockpits at about 2:00 a.m. Moscow time, Sergei Izvolsky, a spokesman for the Federal Air Transport Agency, said today by phone. One plane was arriving from Istanbul and the other flying from Yakutsk in Russia’s Far East, he said.
“Landing is usually done manually, so temporary blindness during the approach is a threat,” Izvolsky said.
More than 50 cases of “laser hooliganism” have been recorded this year, compared with five last year, Izvolsky said, adding that most have occurred in Moscow and Rostov-on-Don. Several pilots were temporarily blinded in attacks this year without serious consequences, he said.
Chechnya banned sales of laser pointers today after a similar incident yesterday, which led to the arrest of 17-year- old boy, the Rossiya 24 state television channel said on its website.
The Rostov police have called for similar measures, RIA Novosti said today. A man with a laser pointer was arrested on June 26 for trying to blind pilots, the news service reported.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ekaterina Shatalova in Moscow at eshatalova@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Sweetman at msweetman@bloomberg.net
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