ASSOCIATED PRESS The problem of lasers being aimed at aircraft is a national one. U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta attended a 747 simulator demonstration Wednesday at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City.

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HPD and FBI look
for laser suspects

Airline pilots report laser
pointers that have targeted
flights coming to Honolulu

Honolulu police and the FBI are investigating several incidents involving powerful laser pointers that targeted airplanes flying into Honolulu Airport earlier this month.

According to a source close to the investigation, pilots said they were tracked with green laser pointers as they approached the airport from the Hawaii Kai area in three separate incidents during the last two weeks. All three incidents involved mainland commercial flights and occurred at night.

"The FBI is actively pursuing some incidences of lasers being pointed to planes here in Honolulu," said Arnold Laanui, a spokesman with the FBI's Honolulu office. "It's not anything that's terrorism-related. However, it is certainly at minimum a dangerous nuisance that we take seriously."

Honolulu police have conducted air and ground searches of East Oahu, but no suspects have been identified and no arrests have been made.

Similar laser beam incidents have been reported throughout the mainland in recent weeks.

National Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said Wednesday that the government now requires pilots to immediately report lasers.

Mineta said 31 such incidents have been reported since Dec. 23, and the new Federal Aviation Administration guidelines are meant to speed word to air traffic controllers, who could then notify law enforcement.

"Shining these lasers at an airplane is not a harmless prank. It is stupid and dangerous," Mineta said in a news release. "You are putting other people at risk, and law enforcement authorities are going to seek you out, and if they catch you, they are going to prosecute you."

Since 1990, there have been more than 400 similar incidents, although the use of the more powerful green laser pointers has been only recently reported.

The green beam light laser pointer is advertised to be 50 times brighter than the old red laser pointer models, shining across distances of up to 25,000 feet, according to some Internet Web sites selling the product. It was intended to be a tool for astronomers to point out star constellations, and sell for $55 to more than $200.

FAA research has shown that laser illuminations can temporarily disorient or disable a pilot during critical stages of flight such as landing or takeoff and, in some cases, could cause permanent damage.

But given the relatively small number of incidents, there is no need to require new equipment for aircraft and crew members, Mineta said.

The federal government has charged a New Jersey man under the Patriot Act with temporarily blinding a pilot and co-pilot with a green light laser.

David Banach of Parsippany, N.J., was charged Tuesday with interfering with the operator of a mass transportation vehicle and making false statements to the FBI. He faces up to 25 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000 if convicted.