After a pilot landing in Darwin last week being struck by a laser, another Qantas pilot was flashed by a laser light while landing at Sydney Airport on Friday, the second time in a week that an aircraft has reportedly been targeted by a laser light.
The SMH reports says that The Dash 8 on the Canberra to Sydney service was preparing to land about 7.25pm on Friday, and landed safely, with a Qantas spokesman saying that the pilot had not flown the return leg to Canberra but had returned to work the next day.
Peter Gibson, a spokesman for CASA, said the authority received two to three reports of similar incidents each week, adding, “There is no way for us to know if it is more common now or whether it is because the reporting culture has increased in the past 18 months”.
Gibson said it was not known whether the culprits were skylarking or plane spotting, but they could receive up to two years’ jail and a $5,500 fine if new Commonwealth legislation is passed.
Report by The Mole
