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SALT LAKE CITY — Someone pointed a green laser pointer into the cockpit of two planes as they were on their final approach to land at the Salt Lake International Airport.
Pointing a laser at a plane is a federal crime and a serious safety hazard. The control tower notified the West Jordan Police Department that the laser was coming from within their city, but finding the culprit is a difficult task.
"(People think) 'Let's see if we can hit the aircraft with the laser, how fun is that,' " said Airport Operations superintendent Dave Korzep. "But what they don't know is they're endangering air crew, passengers, and why would you want to do that? Figure something else to do in your spare time."
If police do catch whoever pointed the laser, that person could face 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Pointing lasers has become a real problem for the FAA and aircraft safety. In 2009, 1,527 incidents nationally of pointing lasers at plane occurred, and by 2011, that number grew to 3,500 nationally. In Utah during 2010, 36 incidents of pointing lasers at planes were reported at the Salt Lake International Airport, ranking the airport to number 13 for the problem.
