I am stunned to read that "There were
32 reported incidents at Portland International Airport last year in which the safety of planes was put at risk by people pointing at them with lasers." How do you explain that? I mean, I can see a few accidents, where someone inadvertently beams a plane, and the occasional crank/lunatic/sociopath, but seriously? Once every eleven days or so? There are dozens, even hundreds of passengers and crew on those things, and every one of them is put at risk. How, exactly, is it that there are people doing this, apparently for shits and giggles? And according to the article, PDX isn't even near the top of the list:
There 108 incidents at the Los Angeles airport last year, more than any other airport, FAA said. O'Hare was next, with 98, followed by airports in Phoenix and San Jose, Calif., both with 80; Las Vegas, 72; Philadelphia, 66; Oakland, Calif., 55; Honolulu, 47; San Francisco, 39; Denver and Newark, N.J., both 38; Tucson, Ariz., 37; Miami and Salt Lake City, both 36; Portland, Ore., and Ontario, Calif., both 32; Burbank, Calif., Orange County, Calif., and Baltimore, each 31, and Seattle, 26.
I swear, my species makes me sick sometimes. Next time you feel inclined to flash a laser at a plane, do us all a favor and go play with some nitroglycerin in a remote open field instead.
