Aircraft Increasingly Subject to Laser Attack

Morons with laser pointers

The next time you find yourself on an airline flight coming in for a landing, consider this: at that very moment, someone on the ground could be training a handheld laser at your aircraft's cockpit.

It happens more often than you think. The FBI has only been keeping records of laser beams striking planes since 2004, but according to a blog post, the number of reports has gone up 1,100 per cent in recent years, from just 283 cases in 2005 to a projected 3,700 cases this year. Unreported incidents could bring the figure even higher.