Laser warnings

The warning comes after pilots flying separate aircraft reported seeing laser beams above Bendigo at the weekend.

Acting Senior Sergeant Damian Keegan said two laser beams were seen on Friday night.

“Two red laser beams were pointed at two different commercial flights from different carriers,” he said.

“One flight was domestic and another international.

“This would be a concern for a smaller aircraft.”

The pilots of the aircraft passed the details of the incident on to Victoria Police. Sergeant Keegan said people needed to understand “that sort of behaviour is not okay.”

He said the act of pointing lasers at an aircraft was a federal aviation crime.

“They could face a $66,000 fine and 10 years imprisonment,” he said.

“(That fine) is for the impact it can have on aircraft.

“These are heavy duty lasers.”

Sergeant Keegan said it was the first report of such an incident he had dealt with.

“We’d rather it be the only time it happens,” he said.

Bendigo Eye Clinic ophthalmologist Dr Peter Burt said laser beams that could be seen from the air were concentrated enough to cause permanent damage.

He said if the lasers were to shine directly into the macula of someones eye it “could set up a sun burn in the back of their eye.”

“It is dangerous and it is distracting to pilots in the situation,” he said.

“(With lasers) the distance is not a (contributing) factor.

“A laser beam is a stream of coherent light, because of its nature it penetrates for a long way.

“It’s quite visible because it is so coherent. It doesn’t lose its power.

“It travels a long way further than the average person would think – it is dangerous to shine laser into your eye.”

A problem with laser beaming is believed to be more common in major cities and is quite rare in regional centres.

Pilots are routinely tested after an encounter with a laser beam.

A Civil Aviation Safety Authority Advisory Circular held in 2007 examined laser emissions which may endanger the safety of aircraft. 

The Advisory Circular read, "protection of pilots against accidental laser beam strike has become a serious factor in aviation safety.”

Anyone with information about the incident should contact Bendigo Police on 5448 1300.