The new year did not offer a great start for pilots in Greater Victoria airspace as they had to face the resurgent nuisance of pointers aiming green laser beams at flying aircraft.
According to Transport Canada records, there were two instances reported of aircraft receiving laser strikes or flashes in the region in January. A third was reported just outside of Vancouver International Airport last month.
Though none of the reported cases resulted in a crash or damage, the federal transport authority is starting to see an increase in the frequency of the incidents.
“Canadian aviation regulations strictly forbid the projection of bright lights into airspace,” said Transport Canada spokeswoman Roxane Marchand. “Aiming a laser at an aircraft poses a serious risk to pilots, passengers and aviation safety.”
Transport Canada recorded 590 laser incidents in 2015, a significant increase from the 502 in 2014 and the 229 in 2011.
Last year, there were three in Victoria, and since 2010 there have been 18 incidents reported near Victoria International Airport and the Inner Harbour air space.
Rick Hill, vice-president of commercial and business programs for Helijet, said the laser problem is “a big problem” worldwide that’s being dealt with by Transport Canada and the Federal Aviation Administration in the U.S.
A Helijet flight reported an incident of four green laser flashes while landing in Victoria on Jan. 31.
“It’s a problem for us, but so far it hasn’t been significant in any way, but it certainly has the potential to be,” Hill said. “It’s a little different thing than the drone issue, because if you’re shooting a laser at an aircraft, you are obviously trying to cause some kind of issue, whereas drone [problems] are typically people who really don’t know how to operate in certain air space.”
Transport Canada said lasers can have serious effects and result in distracting or temporarily blinding pilots and creating glare, putting everyone on board and those on the ground at risk.
“It has certainly happened here,” said James Bogusz, vice-president of operations at Victoria International Airport. “It’s definitely a national problem. We know the federal authorities are taking this seriously, and we hope to have these people found and dealt with appropriately.”
The most recent incident near the airport happened Jan. 29 when a Cessna flying circuits out of the Victoria Flying Club received multiple green laser strikes. The pilot was able to identify where they were coming from and the RCMP were dispatched.
Pointing a laser at an aircraft is a federal criminal offence and, if convicted, offenders face up to $100,000 in fines and five years in prison.
As a result of the increases in laser incidents, Transport Canada launched a safety awareness campaign on the risks and consequences of pointing lasers at aircraft, in partnership with the Vancouver airport, the RCMP and NAV Canada.
