Laser Illumination of Aircraft by Geographic Location for a 3-Year Period (2004-2006)
Abstract
Incidents involving laser illumination of aircraft in the National Airspace System have raised concerns within the aviation community for more than a decade. The principal concern is the visual effect laser illumination may have on flight crew performance during terminal operations, such as landing and departure maneuvers, when operational activities are extremely critical. This 3-year study examines the frequency and rate of aviation-related laser incidents by year and location. Incident reports of civilian aircraft illuminated by high-intensity lights have been collected from various sources and entered into a database maintained by the Vision Research Team at the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute. Reported incidents of laser exposure of civilian aircraft in the United States for a 3-year period (January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2006) were collated and analyzed. A total of 832 incidents during the study period took place within the United States in the nine FAA-designated regions. For the period, total laser incident rates per 100,000 flight operations ranged from zero in the Alaskan region to 0.86 in the Western Pacific Region. Of the 202 airports where laser incidents occurred, there were 20 (9.9%) that reported 10 or more laser incidents during the study period. The majority of airports (52.6%) with 10 or more laser incidents reported a higher number of incidents in 2005 than in 2006. Laser illumination incidents that could compromise aviation safety and threaten flight crew vision performance occur with some regularity within the contiguous United States. While the study data indicate the Western Pacific Region had a significantly higher prevalence rate than the other FAA regions, analysis was complicated by incident clusters that occurred randomly at various airports.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA482979
Entities
People
- Kathry J. Wood
- Ron W. Montgomery
- Van B. Nakagawara
Organizations
- Federal Aviation Administration