DENVER—Investigators say they check out every report of a laser aimed at aircraft flying near Denver International Airport, but it’s almost impossible to find the culprits.
“It’s like a needle in a haystack,” said Denver police Capt. Brian Gallagher, who is commander of the department’s airport bureau. “You’ve pretty much got to catch someone (in the act) and have them be dumb enough to say, ‘Yeah, I did it.'”
The Federal Aviation Administration said last month that pilots reported 38 laser incidents around the Denver airport in 2010, ranging from within a mile of the airport to 37 miles away.
No injuries or accidents were reported as a result of the Colorado incidents, but the FAA said lasers can temporarily blind pilots or permanently damage their eyes.
The FAA said it refers laser incidents to local law enforcement agencies or the FBI.
Denver FBI spokesman Dave Joly said agents identified suspects in two incidents last year, but the U.S. attorney’s office declined to prosecute. Jeff Dorschner, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, declined to discuss any cases that were turned down.
In one incident, someone pointed a green laser at a helicopter used by two Denver television stations covering a shooting at a middle school on Feb. 23. It didn’t hit anyone’s eye, said Rob Marshall, the pilot.
“It could have been quite nasty,” Marshall told The Associated Press on Thursday. “It wasn’t, but it could have been.”
Marshall said he circled until he could pinpoint the location of the laser, and then notified authorities.
Most of the laser incidents around Denver last year were reported to the west and southwest of the airport, ranging from four to 37 miles away, according to FAA statistics.
Some occurred in clusters; three pilots reported lasers were pointed at them on June 26, all about 15 miles west of the airport. Lasers also were reported on July 12 and 13, both four miles southwest of the airport.
Nine other airports had more laser incidents than Denver last year, ranging from 108 at Los Angeles International to 39 in San Francisco. Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey reported 38, the same number as Denver.
