Story ID: 013Feb17
Helicopters Vulnerable to Laser Incidents
By: Mark Huber
Caption: Helicopters are particularly vulnerable to these attacks.
Word Count: 150
 The number of laser strikes directed at aircraft doubled between 2014 and 2015, and more than 6,700 were reported during the first 11 months of 2016, according to the FAA. Helicopters are particularly vulnerable, given their relatively slow speeds, low cruising altitudes and reliance on manual controls.

Thanks to a 2012 law, pointing a laser at an aircraft is a federal offense punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. However, few offenders are ever caught, and those who are often receive lenient sentences. In December, a federal judge sentenced a man to eight months for pointing a laser at a news helicopter in San Antonio, and this month a Michigan man received a year for pointing a laser at a state police helicopter that was investigating a reported laser attack on a regional jet near Saginaw, Michigan, a crime for which he was also suspected but not charged.