Update
Plane zapped with laser near Sydney Airport
April 10, 2011 - 10:19AM
A Jetstar plane descending towards Sydney Airport has been zapped with a laser, police say.
A green-coloured laser was pointed at the aircraft, apparently from Canterbury in Sydney's west, police said.
The incident happened about 7.15pm yesterday, police said.
Police sent vehicles to the area and inquiries are continuing.
A police spokesman was unable to say where the plane had travelled from or how many passengers were on board.
Pointing lasers at an aircraft is illegal and dangerous, with Detective Inspector Michael O'Rourke from Ashfield Local Area
Command saying such action can endanger lives.
Laser pointer put hundreds in danger, court hears
By Nathan Klein
The Daily Telegraph
April 06, 2010
EVERY passenger on board a Virgin Blue flight could have been killed when a teenager shone a laser into the cockpit, a court heard yesterday.
Police allege Abdul Eid, 18, of Auburn, "endangered the lives" of 134 passengers on a flight to Sydney from Melbourne on Sunday night about 7.30pm.
Less than two hours later, the teenager allegedly blinded crew on a police helicopter that was patrolling in the Auburn area following reports of the earlier incident.
The teenager was located shortly after and charged with illegal use of the laser pointer.
A 16-year-old from Berala, who cannot be named, was also charged with the same offences but released on strict conditional bail.
The incident follows a spate of similar happenings, including one at Bexley just two weeks ago.
A green laser light was directed into the cockpit of a police helicopter. No one was caught and the device was found later in a carpark by police.
In Parramatta Bail Court, Eid was labelled a threat to the general public by the prosecution.
"This offence had the potential to endanger lives. The protection of the community is paramount," the police prosecutor said.
Eid's lawyer said there were a number of people involved in the incident and there was no way to prove it was her client.
But the prosecutor told the court the police helicopter had recorded vision of Eid using the device.
The court registrar branded Eid a "serious risk to the community" before refusing bail.
Eid will reappear in Burwood Local Court via audio visual link tomorrow.
A spokeswoman for Virgin Blue last night confirmed the flight crew had reported the incident and labelled the act as "sheer stupidity".
No comments:
Post a Comment