The threat of high power laser pointer to air traffic is a serious problem, said Günter Krings, deputy chairman of the coalition's parliamentary group. Krings had already called for prompt action by the federal government in Le Monde, and now the CDU politician is adding "The import of powerful laser pointers into Germany should be banned. In addition, private individuals should no longer be allowed to carry such devices without permission. Laser pointers can blind pilots and are always dangerous. Crew glare using laser pointers is a growing flight safety problem in civil and military aviation, and the number of glare caused by lasers is reported to increase every year. Therefore, it is important to familiarize the crew with the physiological basis, operational effects and avoidance strategies during training in order to be able to respond to this blind attack in the best possible way.
Range of Class 4 Laser Pointers
The range of a Class 4 green laser pointer depends on the wavelength used, power and ambient lighting conditions. The frequency of blinding attacks in Europe has been increasing over the past two years. Suddenly, a pilot noticed that he had been blinded several times by a green laser pointer. During the landing approach, the pilot of a passenger plane was blinded by a 500mw laser, and as usual, the red laser designator had a greater range, but only needed the aforementioned 15m to achieve its intended purpose. Temporary glare from a 2000mw laser pointer can cause afterimages or so called "flash blindness". This can be a factor that compromises flight safety, especially during the landing phase of an approach. Blinding by a laser pointer can have fatal consequences during the decisive phase of an approach/departure or in low-level flight that requires absolute crew attention. If the pilot temporarily loses control of the plane or helicopter due to blindness, the worst-case scenario could be an aircraft accident.
However, in addition to ordinary users unaware of the dangers of green laser pointers, there is also deliberate misuse. Instructions can be found on the Internet, for example, how to remove a laser from a DVD device and use it to create a dangerous laser pointer. So far, the canton of Zurich has identified 40 people abusing laser pointers. Therefore, the government committee supports a federal ban on laser pointers that output more than 1 milliwatt. The Federal Office of Public Health has announced that a draft law will be submitted for consultation in early 2014. As an emergency measure, Kapo Zurich has begun confiscating laser pointers during identity checks.
