'Laser Beam' on Landing Plane... Australian Teen Attacks Police Helicopter

On the afternoon of the 9th, A (16), who lives in Baxley, Sydney, Australia, was arrested after shining a green laser beam at a passenger plane landing at Sydney Airport from his backyard and attacking a police helicopter dispatched to the scene in the same way. Photo by Twitter capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] A teenage boy in Australia was arrested by local police for shining a laser beam at a plane landing at the airport and a police helicopter.

According to local media Nine News and other foreign outlets on the 10th (local time), the New South Wales (NSW) police arrested a 16-year-old boy named A at around 7:40 p.m. on the 9th for shining a laser beam at a passenger plane attempting to land at Sydney Airport from the backyard of his home in Baxley, Sydney, Australia.

The pilot of the passenger plane who saw the laser beam immediately reported it to the airport police. In response, local police quickly dispatched a helicopter to find the culprit. It was reported that A, unaware of the seriousness of the incident, also shone the laser beam at the police helicopter. A was later arrested at his home and taken to the police station but was released under the local juvenile crime law.

This incident occurred less than a week after the police declared a strict crackdown on the recent surge of such laser beam attacks over Sydney's airspace.

According to the New South Wales police, there have been 12 laser beam attack incidents in the eastern region of Australia in recent weeks. Last month, a man in western Sydney was arrested by police for repeatedly shining a laser at a police helicopter.

Brad Munk, an aviation investigator for New South Wales, warned, "Laser beams can damage pilots' eyesight and threaten the lives of crew and passengers," adding, "Shining laser beams at aircraft is extremely dangerous under any circumstances." Last month, a flight officer temporarily lost his eyesight after being targeted by a laser beam attack from a 45-year-old man.

Laser pointers with power levels above 1mW (milliwatt) are classified as prohibited weapons, and special permission is required if they are needed for work or astronomy.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.