Laser hits American Airlines flight near Meacham

FORT WORTH — An American Airlines flight, westbound from D/FW Airport, reported being hit by a green laser at 10,000 feet late Tuesday, seven miles northwest of Meacham Airport.

No injuries were reported, according to Lynn Lunsford, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman.

"We notified Fort Worth police," Lunsford said. "This nonsense happens multiple times a night in cities all across the United States."

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Randy Babbitt announced this summer that the FAA would begin imposing civil penalties against people who point a laser into the cockpit of an aircraft.

The FAA’s legal interpretation found that directing a laser beam into an aircraft cockpit could interfere with a flight crew performing its duties while operating an aircraft, a violation of Federal Aviation Regulations.

The maximum civil penalty the FAA can impose on an individual for violating the FAA’s regulations that prohibit interfering with a flight crew is $11,000 per violation. The offender can also face jail time. — Marty Sabota

Comments

[Steven]

Okay, the aircraft is at 10k. It reports being LASERed "into" the cockpit.

From where did this LASER originate?

Think hard...

[Alberto Knox]

"Laser hits American Airlines flight near Meacham"

Just stop for a moment and let your imagine wander a bit. If this headline could somehow slip back in time to, oh, about 1965. Imagine the panic it would cause :-)

[Adam]

This is almost as dangerous to flight safety as forgetting to turn your cell phone off. Glad there isn't an $11k penalty for that!

[Robert Henson]

If that's true,would the flash of a red light camera not interfear with a dirver when they are entering or exiting a intersection.

[Joe in Dallas]

Maybe he was flying inverted?