Colorado Senate passes bill to make pointing a laser at a plane a felony
The Colorado Pilots Association and more than 400 aviation businesses are calling on state lawmakers to crack down on people who shine lasers into cockpits, warning it could cause a crash.
"It's not a prank, it's not a joke. These lasers, once they hit the plexiglass of the cockpit, it's essentially lights exploding in that cockpit and the intensity of the laser, you have a serious chance of incapacitating the pilot with temporary or permanent eye damage," said Kelly Sloan with the Colorado Aviation Business Association.
He says in 2021, there were 260 reports of someone shining a laser at an aircraft in Colorado. Last year, the number jumped to more than 300.
"There's nothing law enforcement can do about it right now except confiscate the lasers," said Sen. Joann Ginal, a Democrat representing District 14, Larimer County.
She's introduced a bill at the state capitol to make it a felony. While it's already illegal under federal law, she says, local police - not the FBI - are usually the ones to respond. So far, no one has crashed as a result of a laser, but Ginal says there have been close calls involving not only planes but air ambulances.
"Centura just had it happen a few months ago. It blinds the pilot. They were coming in for a landing and they can't see. They've got a patient in the back that needs help, they've got a crew in the front, a crew in the back… puts all those people at risk and their lives, along with the patient that they're trying to help, could be lost by someone pointing a laser into the cockpit of the helicopter," said Ginal.
Sloan says some pilots have suffered temporary or permanent eye injuries from the lasers.
"It's a testament to the training of pilots these days and the technology we have there hasn't been a catastrophic incident but everybody knows it's only a matter of time if this goes unchecked before something really catastrophic happens with a potentially massive loss of life," said Sloan.
Ginal says her bill is about public safety, "We need to start putting down some laws to be able to catch people doing things that cause the loss of life or loss of many lives and this bill would do just that."
The bill would make pointing a laser at a plane a Class 6 felony. It has passed the Senate and is now working its way through the House.
