SEATTLE — Pilots have reported more than two dozen incidents of lasers being aimed at airliners in and around Sea-Tac International Airport this week, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The reports this week come after four flights reported laser strikes on Jan. 28. There have been at least 32 laser strike incidents at or around Sea-Tac Airport so far this year.
The FAA said the latest reports came Wednesday night when six flight crews reported “being illuminated by a green laser” around Sea-Tac between 5:59-7:52 p.m. Five strikes were reported to the north or northwest of the airport, and one report came from the east-southwest.
Wednesday’s laser strikes involved planes operated by Delta, American, Volatis, Alaska and SkyWest.
Another 11 flights were hit on Tuesday between 8-10:30 p.m. about 2-3 miles away from the airport. They included Alaska, Horizon, Delta flights and at least one Southwest, jetBlue, American and Aeromexico flight.
The reports Monday totaled 11 incidents between 8-9 p.m., with seven of them to the north and northwest of the airport, and four to the southeast. Most of the strikes involved planes operated by Alaska and Horizon, which have the most flights arriving and departing the airport. Others were directed at Delta and one Southwest flight.
All 28 flights hit this week were able to land safely and no one of injured. However, the laser hits are a safety issue in the cockpit and can cause damage to pilots' eyesight.
“It causes a lot of blindness, kind of a disorientating feeling you get – this dazzle across the whole windscreen,” said Josh Sweeney, pilot and King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) deputy.
Sweeney has been hit with lasers while flying the KCSO Guardian One helicopter. Guardian One will often fly to help locate offenders using their specialized camera.
“This camera system…has a mapping program on it as well, so when we see what street, what address everything we’re looking at. When we put that suspect on camera, then we can lead officers on the ground,” said Sweeney.
The sheriff’s office and the Washington State Patrol, which flies fixed-wing aircraft, have both had some success identifying and arresting laser offenders.
When they occur, laser hits are reported to air traffic controllers, who send the report to the Port of Seattle Police. Port police will attempt to speak with the pilots to try and nail down the locations, said Sea-Tac spokesman Perry Cooper.
But some of these reports were as far out as eight miles from the airport, which puts the planes much higher off the ground than the cases closer to the airport.
Using a laser against an aircraft is a felony in both state and federal law and can lead to $11,000 in civil penalties per incident from the FAA.
The FAA said pilots reported a record 9,723 laser strikes last year, which is a 41% increase over the year before. The FAA said pilots have reported 244 injuries from laser strikes since 2010.