Coast Guard seeks green-laser culprit in Michigan

Posted on 18 September 2012

ShareTweet

The Coast Guard is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever pointed a green laser at a Coast Guard helicopter Aug. 17 during a routine training mission in Muskegon, Mich.

Pointing a laser at any aircraft is a federal offense punishable by as much as five years in prison, an $11,000 fine and five years of probation. The Federal Aviation Administration says laser incidents involving aircraft increased 902 percent from 2005 to 2011.

The Coast Guard statement says green lasers are a hazard to flight crews, especially when they are operating at low altitude at night. Boat crews working at night also can be affected.

“We've been very fortunate that the green laser incidents haven't yet resulted in tragedy," Coast Guard Commander Joseph Deer, commanding officer of Air Station Detroit, which staffs the Muskegon air facility, told the Muskegon Chronicle. "But whoever is committing these crimes is endangering the lives of their fellow citizens, as well as the aircrews performing training and rescue missions. We're simply asking the public to help us put a stop to this reckless behavior by reporting it immediately if they see it happening."

Click here for the full report at mlive.com and click here for the official Coast Guard announcement.

Add your comment

Your name:	Required, screen names acceptable
Your email:	Required, will not be published
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive. For more information, please see our Comments Policy.:
Word verification:
	Post Preview

yvComment v.1.21.1