{"id":279473,"date":"2020-10-02T14:44:33","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T04:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=279473"},"modified":"2020-10-02T14:44:33","modified_gmt":"2020-10-02T04:44:33","slug":"lasers-target-rescue-choppers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/10\/02\/lasers-target-rescue-choppers\/","title":{"rendered":"Lasers Target Rescue Choppers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
A laser strike on a Queensland Police helicopter earlier this year … police and rescue helicopters have been targeted recently (Photo: QPS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

October 2, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

RACQ LifeFlight Rescue is calling on the community to help keep helicopter\u00a0crews safe and report any dangerous use of laser pointers\u00a0to police.<\/p>\n

During the past six months there have been five\u00a0reported laser strikes on RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopters or air ambulance jets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re obviously doing a busy job, in a congested airspace, so having to deal with these kind of attacks is quite distracting and it puts the crews under pressure they don\u2019t need to be under,\u201d LifeFlight spokesperson Jon Turley\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The) majority of the time, it\u2019s a life or death situation, so flight crews being distracted and having to deal with this does have an influence on their performance.”<\/p>\n

Between March and September, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Bundaberg chopper crews reported four separate laser strikes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In some cases, patients were on board.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest things they do, straight away, is notify air traffic control,\u201d Mr Turley said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey also don\u2019t look at the source, they try and protect their eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Exposure to lasers can result in long lasting eye damage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe laser can bounce around off other surfaces, so once it gets into the cockpit, it can then go into the eye, from different areas,\u201d Mr Turley said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As well as affecting the crew members’ vision\u00a0at the time, hazards can also include flash blindness and loss of night vision, with the risk of losing control of the aircraft.<\/p>\n

A laser pointer is defined as a weapon under the Weapons Act 1990, and offences are punishable under the Criminal Code.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople must understand laser pointers are not toys and can pose real risks to the safety of pilots and the aircraft they fly,\u201d Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesperson Peter Gibson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLasers must never be pointed at aircraft and anyone with a legitimate use for lasers must get the relevant approvals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month, Queensland Police reminded\u00a0the public that shining a laser at an aircraft or into the cockpit is a Federal crime.<\/p>\n

In the past, convicted offenders have received fines high as $10,000, and the offence carries a\u00a0maximum penalty of two years’ jail.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RACQ LifeFlight Rescue is calling on the community to help keep helicopter\u00a0crews safe and report any dangerous use of laser pointers\u00a0to police.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":279484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,24],"tags":[1132],"yoast_head":"\nLasers Target Rescue Choppers - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"RACQ LifeFlight Rescue is calling on the community to help keep helicopter\u00a0crews safe and report any dangerous use of laser pointers\u00a0to police.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/10\/02\/lasers-target-rescue-choppers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lasers Target Rescue Choppers - 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