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Man Jailed For 18 Months After 90-Second Laser Attack On Delta Flight Landing In Buffalo (simpleflying.com)

submitted 1 day ago by 0xebfe@lemmy.today to c/aviation@lemmy.world

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A man who aimed a green laser pointer at a Delta Air Lines flight on approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. During the March 2024 incident, Joseph L. Crapsi, 31, of Cheektowaga, repeatedly aimed the laser at the aircraft during the critical phase of flight.

According to one of the pilots, the attack lasted between 60 and 90 seconds, adding that he felt "something horrible would happen." Laser attacks are a serious threat that can temporarily blind pilots and, in severe cases, cause permanent damage, as well as endanger the safety of an aircraft and its occupants.

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[–] panda_abyss@lemmy.ca 31 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

So a few things:

He probably did not do this to only one plane.
was this the first time he went to it to do this, or just when he was caught?
Imagine if he did cause this plane to crash and potentially dozens of people were injured or killed?

There aren’t a lot of situations you can endanger that many lives at one time. This was an incredibly dangerous thing to do.

18 months seems like her got let off insanely lucky.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 5 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

also a laser powerful enough , can permantly blind someone too.

[–] ApathyTree@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah and those green lasers are no joke. I use one (with an absolute abundance of caution) to sight my telescope when I’m way out in the middle of nowhere, where there aren’t many flight paths, because you can see it clear as day against the sky. The whole way up. They are wildly powerful, despite being fairly cheap.

I’m constantly paranoid about bringing new people viewing with me because they inevitably want to play with the laser.. I can’t blame them, that and the UV laser I’ve got are very very cool, but they demand respect for both the laser and the laws around their use.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 1 points 3 hours ago

and they showcase ones that are capable of causing fires, that can be acquired in the us. dont think its legal though

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 1 points 11 hours ago

Lasers in CD / DVD / blue ray drives are already powerful enough to damage your eyes. Those green laser pointers are way way bigger