FAA: Several Commercial Flights Over New Jersey Hit By Laser Beams

Several commercial flights over the skies of New Jersey were reportedly hit by laser beams on Wednesday night, officials from the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed.

According to CNN, the FAA has launched an investigation into the incident that occurred between 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday. While initial reports say that a total of 11 flights were hit by laser beams, a report by CBS News put the number of aircraft affected at 12. The FAA added that one of the airlines hit by the laser happened to be a military aircraft.

Officials have confirmed that the incidents were reported in the skies over Outerbridge Crossing. The military plane was hit in another location, suggesting that there were multiple people behind this. Three of the incidents happened to flights that were on their way to Newark Liberty International Airport, the FAA said. Some of the flights that were hit by the laser beams were a few thousand feet in the air. Officials confirmed that the flights hit by the laser beams included American Airlines Flight 1472, American Airlines 966, and American Airlines Flight 348. Other flights with confirmed laser beam hits included Republic Airlines Flight 4632, United Flight 330, and JetBlue Flight 2779.

Following the reports of laser beam hits, Air Traffic controllers reported to changing the landing patterns for several flights in and around the area. A conversation between the ATC and some of the pilots were posted on LiveATC.net. Here is an excerpt.

Pilot 1: “Tower, American 966: We just got a laser shot about 8 o’clock.”

Tower: “Roger, 8 o’clock. How far away would you say and what color was it?”

Pilot 1: “It’s green, at about 7 o’clock now and I’d say about a mile and a half.”

Pilot 2: “United 330. We are now getting a laser at 10 o’clock, low now.”

A laser beam fired at an airplane can temporarily make the pilots disoriented and can lead to disasters. These laser beams are powerful enough to reach several thousand feet into the sky and blind the pilots temporarily. Seeing the potential hazard, the Transportation Security Administration has made pointing a laser at a plane a felony offense punishable with a five-year jail sentence. People have been convicted for the crime in the past as well.

While no untoward incidents happened after Wednesday night’s laser beam attacks, agencies are investigating whether this was an attempt at disrupting air traffic or just some irresponsible people having fun.

Interestingly, there were 23 other cases of laser beam strikes reported from other states on the same night. This is not the first time Inquisitr has reported about such laser beam strikes from the U.S.

[Image via Shutterstock]