Someone pointed a laser at a helicopter in Weld County Saturday night, according to the Weld County Sheriff’s Office, which said it is investigating the incident.
The crew of a medical helicopter reported that someone was pointing a laser at their aircraft during a flight around 11:30 p.m. in the block of Weld County Road 69.
Lasers can temporarily blind pilots, and pointing one at an aircraft is a federal crime punishable by jail time and fines, the Federal Aviation Administration said Saturday in a tweet about the incident.
The helicopter crew in Weld County landed shortly after spotting the laser Saturday and found the person who had pointed the laser at the aircraft, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office. The crew said it would wait with the person for deputies to arrive, but was called away before deputies got there. Deputies did find someone at the scene with a laser when they arrived, according to the sheriff’s office.
It was not clear Sunday whether that person would be charged; the sheriff’s office said the investigation was ongoing and that investigators were conducting interviews.
Authorities previously urged the public not to point lasers or shoot at aircraft, especially at night, in January and December when reports of unknown drones flying in northeast Colorado and Nebraska gained widespread attention and residents were paying close attention to the skies, with some homegrown sleuths hoping to solve the mystery of the drones on their own.
Authorities have prosecuted cases of laser being pointed at aircraft in the Denver region in the past. In 2016, a man who pointed a laser at a Denver police helicopter was sentenced to one year probation.
