Manchester Airport has been at the centre of an increasingly worrying trend that is putting safety in doubt when it comes to flying planes. Over recent months there have been several incidents concerning what is called a laser pen.
The pens have been used to shine a beam of light at aeroplanes as they have been taking off or landing. These incidents have occurred at other airports in the UK as well, but it has become clear that a number of news reports have surfaced recently concerning Manchester Airport in particular. One example was in the online version of the Manchester Evening News. You can read the article here.
The term ‘laser louts’ might be a catchy one that has been invented by the media. But the threat the pens and their users pose is very real. For those who don’t know very much about what a laser pen is and what it does, this should help clarify things a bit.
A laser pen can be used just like a normal pen. This can make it very hard to spot that it has a laser element to it as well. The laser beam comes out of the other end of the pen and while many of them are legal, they are also extremely bright. They don’t use anything that is hard to get hold of either – standard sized batteries, usually either triple or double As, are all you need to get them working. What’s more you can get hold of a reasonably good laser pen for just two or three pounds on some websites.
While most people will buy and use these lasers for the uses they were invented for, there is a small minority of people who will abuse them. And it is these people who are causing problems at Manchester Airport. The act of shining a laser into the cockpit of a plane can result in the pilot being temporarily unable to see. If this happens when they are airborne or about to take off or land, the results could be catastrophic.
It has been announced that aviation experts are getting together with the police to make sure this worrying trend is put to a stop very quickly. While no one seems to have been caught at this stage, it is hoped that a concerted campaign to put a stop to it may put those culprits off from trying it again. At the very least they stand a much higher chance of being caught and charged than they may have been in the past.
Pilots have been reporting any incidents that have occurred. Unfortunately some of the manufacturers of these laser pens have been employing dubious marketing techniques. Many children have been found to have them, and while they think it is fun to point them at people, they may soon learn that it could get them into serious trouble.
The race is on to catch the people responsible so Manchester Airport – and others – can be safer once more.