Laser strikes persist

A March 26 FAA news release notes that pilot-reported laser strikes declined 3 percent in 2024, with 12,840 incidents reported, though "the numbers are still too high."

Lasers have injured 328 pilots since the FAA began tracking laser strike reports in 2010, based on flight crew and air traffic controller reports submitted via an online form. According to a data visualization tool posted by the agency, 15 of those pilot-reported laser injuries occurred in 2024.

Among the most recent arrests, Clayton Patrick Merritt, 50, of Cle Elum, Washington, was indicted by a federal grand jury March 11 on a federal charge of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft, specifically, according to the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, a September 21 Horizon Air flight from Seattle to Billings, Montana. According to the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office jail roster, Merritt was arrested on January 28, and held in lieu of $15,000 bail to face various state charges including second-degree assault, resisting arrest, second-degree criminal trespass, and second-degree unlawful discharge of a laser. (It was not immediately clear from available records if the state's laser use charge was related to the same incident as the federal charge.)

Most laser strikes occur, unsurprisingly, at night and affect aircraft flying below 10,000 feet, according to the FAA data. California recorded the highest number of laser strike reports from aircraft in 2024, with 1,489, followed by Texas with 1,463, and Florida with 810.

The FAA issues fines of up to $11,000 per violation, and up to $30,800 for multiple offenses. The federal charge for which Merritt was indicted carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.