A 32-year-old man has been arrested and charged with endangering transport after allegedly pointing a laser at a police helicopter in Auckland last night.
The Police Eagle helicopter was assisting with a stolen vehicle in Mt Wellington when it was struck by a laser about 9.15pm.
The crew identified the address it came from and a man was quickly taken into custody.
“A 32-year-old man was arrested and charged with endangering transport,” a police spokesperson said.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority, pointing a laser at an aircraft can affect a pilot’s ability to safely control the plane or helicopter, especially during take-off and landing.
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“This is particularly dangerous for small aircraft and helicopters, but poses a real risk to large aircraft too.”
“Although the beam from a laser might appear as a little dot of light for the user, when it reaches the aircraft cockpit in the distance it becomes a large, distracting and damaging illumination.
“Laser attacks can leave pilots with flash blindness, where their vision is affected even after the laser is no longer pointing in their direction – sometimes these effects can take days to pass.”
