What happens when a laser is beamed at a pilot?

The Redhill branch of the National Police Air Service issued a series of photographs on its Facebook page showing the impact of a laser Credit: NPAS Redhill

Increasingly powerful lasers aimed at planes can blind, dazzle and distract pilots during critical stages of flying - even after the beams have left the cockpit, a pilots' union has said.

Pilots at Birmingham Airport are facing more than one potentially-deadly laser pen attack every week, the worst outside of London.

That is according to the British Airline Pilots Association that is now calling for the lasers to be classified as “offensive weapons”.

It comes after a laser beam forced a New York-bound Virgin Atlantic flight to return to London Heathrow

The union said it will have put the aircraft, its crew and the 252 passengers on board at risk. Police are continuing to investigate the source of the beam that left the plane's co-pilot unwell following the incident on Sunday.

A laser beam can establish a full glare of light on the face of a pilot or co-pilot. Credit: NPAS Redhill

Balpa said pilots face several dangers during and after a laser is beamed into a cockpit:

  • Temporary vision loss associated with flash blindness

  • Glare

  • An after-image

  • An image left in the visual field after exposure to a bright light

  • Other forms of "visual interference that persist" after the beam has gone

The union's general secretary Jim McAuslan emphasised Sunday's attack on the Virgin flight was "not an isolated incident" and said "more needs to be done" to tackle the growing use of lasers against aircraft. Around 9,000 laser incidents across the country were reported to the UK Civil Aviation Authority between 2009 and June 2015 despite the reckless action being made a criminal offence in 2010.

Police helicopters are equipped with technology to identify the exact location of the culprit who is targeting the plane with a beam of light. Credit: NPAS Redhill

"Aircraft are attacked with lasers at an alarming rate and with lasers with ever-increasing strength," Mr McAuslan said.