Laser Events Affecting Pilots Are Becoming Surprisingly Common

Both innocent and malicious pranksters have caused real issues for aviators and air traffic controllers alike.

Tuesday, April 15, 2025 at 09:10 AM ET

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You’re most likely to be affected by laser strikes at low altitudes, in critical phases of flight, and at night. [File Photo Courtesy: NBAA]

Key Takeaways:

Laser strikes on aircraft are a widespread and dangerous issue, capable of blinding pilots and endangering flight safety, with over 18,000 incidents reported in the U.S. in recent years.
Air Traffic Control (ATC) follows a detailed checklist for laser events, which includes recording incident details, alerting other aircraft, notifying local law enforcement, and coordinating with federal agencies to apprehend offenders.
Shining a laser at an aircraft is a serious federal felony in the U.S., carrying severe penalties at both state and federal levels, and law enforcement actively pursues and often apprehends perpetrators.

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Many of us have played with lasers at some point. We should know that even the small ones can damage our eyes. While smaller lasers are generally safe for short periods, the bigger ones are potentially harmful, even from miles away.

What pilots do and how they are trained are one story, but we’ll stick mainly to what air traffic control (ATC) does whenever it hears “laser” or “my eye!” We’ll also discuss some aftermaths of such events.