NEW YORK: Police in New York arrested a man on Tuesday for allegedly flashing a laser light into the cockpits of several aircraft near a New York airport, injuring three pilots, local media said.
Frank Egan, 36, is suspected of using a small tubular laser on Monday night to flash a beam of light into the cockpits of several commercial airliners and a police helicopter taking off and landing at La Guardia Airport.
A pilot for Air Canada and two pilots for New York Police Department were injured, The New York Times reported. All pilots were taken to hospitals for treatment.
Egan has been charged with several offences, including assaults on police officers, three counts of felony assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon, the paper said.
The number of laser strikes jumped to 99 incidents in 2013, almost double the 52 recorded in 2010. Pilots and their crews have been injured in a number of such strikes.
Experts say that some lasers could illuminate cockpits up to 1,500 metres above the ground, and could potentially blind a pilot.
The FBI has offered up to US$10,000 as a reward in the past for information on people pointing lasers at planes. – dpa
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