DescentBB

what next?

And this is news?

So whats so funny Kufjob? Ask Canadian Air Force Captain Pat Barnes and U.S. Navy Lieutenant Jack Daly if they think laser burns on the retina is a laughing matter.
Source: Bill Gertz and the "Kapitan Man" incident.

As if they'd use laserbeams!! Dirty bombs indeed. Babies wearing dynamite! Homemade nerve gas or anthraxed envelopes.

Do you honestly think a babble of religious freaks could co-ordinate an attack upon the most powerful nation on the planet. I don't think so!!!!!!!!

They have a tendency to rely on blowing things up. Of course blinding pilots and bringing a plane down would achieve that end.

Protective eye-wear.

lol @ this story.

First off, even if a terrorist could build a laser powerful enough to blind a pilot from a distance it would actually be a good sized unit (about the size of a briefcase or larger). Not to mention the insane accuracy required to actually aim at a target as small as an eye from a distance of a kilometer or more and then to actually hold it on this microscopic target for the time it requires to burn the retina.

cmon.. use your brains.

I can tell you that there have been enough instances in which an airline pilot was injured by a lazer from outside the cockpit that the airlines and pilots unions are concerned about it.

Lets call the A-team!

I pity the foo who try to lazuh Mistuh-tee's eyes!!

you'd have to be really close for that to happen Ded.

can you be more specific pls dedman? i'd like to know how this can happen.

Ferno wrote:you'd have to be really close for that to happen Ded.

I suspect the terrorist would target planes as they were either landing or taking off. Also, by the accounts of the two people I referenced, the damage was not immediately apparent. Pain did not occur until much later. Also the terrorist would have to target the co pilot also to be effective. Guess we better break out the old mirrored lensed shades eh? On second thought would mirrored sun-glasses be protective enough?

Ferno wrote:you'd have to be really close for that to happen Ded.

roid wrote:can you be more specific pls dedman? i'd like to know how this can happen.

This is coming from industry literature that I read a few months ago. I will try to track it down.

Can't the planes land themselves anyway? I fail to see how this would be effective.

MehYam wrote:Can't the planes land themselves anyway? I fail to see how this would be effective.

Some can, some can't. It all depends on what avionics package that particualr aircraft has. However, the pilots have to tell the plane to land itself, it doesn't happen automatically. If the pilot and copilots get hurt before they can configure the aircraft for an automatic landing, there are in trouble.

Hasnt there been like a bajillion movies where the pilot and co-pilor are killed somehow?

Don't those movies typically end in either in 1) another pilot who just happened to be flying as a passenger saves the day or 2) crash and burn?

Yeah they do. They also show a bullet hole in the fuselage creating an explosive decompression situation, which is equally as ficticous.

I saw that. I concede. However, there is no evidence that terrorism is the cause. It is quite possible that the coverage itself has led some crazies to try it. (I suppose that would be terrorism too). Also, doesn't it seem like a kind of risky and pointless attempt at thwarting a flight? It just seems so bizarre to me.

kufyit wrote:I saw that. I concede. However, there is no evidence that terrorism is the cause. It is quite possible that the coverage itself has led some crazies to try it. (I suppose that would be terrorism too). Also, doesn't it seem like a kind of risky and pointless attempt at thwarting a flight? It just seems so bizarre to me.

This is, by definition, terrorism. It may not be radical fundamentalist muslim terrorists, but it is an unprovoked attack on civilians for no apparent purpose, and would thus fall under the definition of terrorism.

Well, actually, your definition technically isn't terrorism. Terrorism is defined by its political motivation.

Hmm... according to dictionary.com, you're right.

1. The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.

I thought I'd read somewhere that terrorism could be defined as senseless violence against civilians...

One question remains: if it happened at 8500 feet or higher, that would rule out ground based sites. So it either had to happen when it was level with the plane (suggesting another aircraft) or above it.

something still doesn't add up here.

*Selects quad superlasers*
Where's that plane, then?

How to end the terrorist threat...

May be a answer here:

"David Banach was showing his daughter a common laser pointer that he had purchased on the Internet, said attorney Gina Mendola Longarzo. Longarzo said she met with Banach on Saturday.

"At one moment he was in the backyard playing with his daughter," said Longarzo, "and 10 minutes later 12 police cars descended and he was whisked away by authorities and interrogated until 4 a.m."

http://www.dailyrecord.com/news/article ... -laser.htm

Unless they suddenly put a window below the pilot's feet, this whole laser beam thing is unadulterated bull★■◆●

A laser pointer is a terrorist device. Just ask my dog.

Ferno wrote:One question remains: if it happened at 8500 feet or higher, that would rule out ground based sites. So it either had to happen when it was level with the plane (suggesting another aircraft) or above it.

something still doesn't add up here.

From what I understand most of these incidents seem to be happening during landing procedures. So obviously the planes are low enough for a ground based laser to have any effect. If it's precise enough and powerful enough to bother a pilot during a flight coming in for a landing we aren't talking about kids stuff here anyways.

woodchip wrote:"At one moment he was in the backyard playing with his daughter," said Longarzo, "and 10 minutes later 12 police cars descended and he was whisked away by authorities and interrogated until 4 a.m."

Why the hell was he held that long? As soon as they found out it was an everyday laser pointer the feds should have packed up and headed out and left the guy alone. A laser pointer isn't going to do the type of stuff that is happening here. Should be some sort of harassment charges filed for the feds apparent lack of common sense.

I have to agree with Ferno. At 8500 feet the angle to target the window would be such you have to be a couple of miles from verticle to hit the window. As the laser pointer and other laser devices have been around a really long time, why is it just now we are hearing of so many incidents? Wouldn't a typical pointer's beam scatter due to the atmosphere and moisture?

Lawyer: Parsippany resident wasn't trying to distract pilot
...
A Port Authority helicopter was marked by a similar laser Friday during the search and authorities targeted the Lake Parsippany area for a possible source.
...
In New Jersey last week, both aircraft were targeted by the lasers in the vicinity of Teterboro Airport.

On Wednesday night, a pilot preparing to land the jet at Teterboro reported seeing three green laser beams about 11 miles from the airport.
...
In some cases lasers locked onto aircraft several thousand feet up as they approached airports, federal officials said.

this is reported so poorly, i'm not sure if they are talking about motorised laser tracked weapons, or kids with laser pointers. note the bolded parts.

and from the subheadline about being "distracted" (first thing i quoted) it seems that this is only concerning the PRESENCE of the visible illuminated laser lines which could be distracting the pilot - implying that pilots are so distracted by shiny things that anything interesting in their field of view could cause a plane crash.

not only that woody, but the targeting system has to be so precise it cannot possibly be done by human hands.

btw, nice of you to do a 180 from your first post in this thread.


like I said before. it's nothing but lies and I don't believe a single word of it. you guys shouldn't either.

I have no doubt that it is happening. I just don't believe it's enough of a threat to give a damn about

Tyranny wrote:

Why the hell was he held that long? As soon as they found out it was an everyday laser pointer the feds should have packed up and headed out and left the guy alone. A laser pointer isn't going to do the type of stuff that is happening here. Should be some sort of harassment charges filed for the feds apparent lack of common sense.

Evidently they had a reason to hold him:

"NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - A man who initially claimed his daughter aimed a laser at a helicopter was charged after he told federal agents that he pointed the light beam at two aircraft, authorities said Tuesday.

David Banach of Parsippany faces charges of interfering with the operator of a mass transportation vehicle and making false statements to the FBI. He is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court on Tuesday afternoon."

Me blips Ty for rushing to liberal conclusions.

Ferno wrote:Unless they suddenly put a window below the pilot's feet, this whole laser beam thing is unadulterated bull****

Not true. The field of view and "look down" angle from an airliner cockpit is steeper than you think.

It is still not possible for a small, battery powered personal laser pointer to either have the power or the tracking capability to lock onto, and interfere with an aeroplane several thousand feet above sea level. If we were talking about commercial laser show equipment, that could possibly be a different story. However, these stories seem to indicate that the laser pointer concerned is a small, hand-held thing that would have a tough job pointing at something a few hundred feet away, let alone a few thousand. Sure, the person may have been pointing it at the plane, but even on a clear day, the beam would not reach.

A laserpointer isn't going to impede the flight of helicopters, planes or any other object that must have been almost at ground level in their backyard

Its a freaking laserpointer...case closed. Move on.

*me biatchslaps woody*