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Update on Police helicopter Pilot Blinded by laser

Here's a quick update on the article I posted a little while back:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=979_1210238351

Jail for helicopter laser prank
A 21-year-old man from Greater Manchester who temporarily blinded a police helicopter pilot with a laser pen has been jailed for four months.
Dean Bottomley, of Stockport, pleaded guilty to endangering an aircraft during an earlier hearing at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.
The court heard he bought the £30 pen on the internet and pointed it at the aircraft to see how far it reached.
Passing sentence, the judge urged him to "get out of this stupidity phase".
The court heard that the helicopter was flying over Heaton Norris in Stockport on 16 April when it was targeted by a bright green laser.
"This could clearly have had disastrous consequences for the helicopter and its crew"
Supt John O'Hare


The light, which was being shone from the back bedroom window of a semi-detached house below, lit up the whole cockpit, leaving the pilot unable to see properly.
Bottomley "zapped" the aircraft up to 10 times with the laser, which had a range of up to five miles, the court heard.
Pilot Captain Mark Westwood told the court: "The overall effect was temporary blindness. I lost outside visual reference and could not see the instrumentation displayed in the aircraft."
After the first incident he had to fly blind, taking emergency evasive action to position the helicopter out of the beam.
He added: "It was a very dangerous manoeuvre, but I had to do it to get myself out of that dazzle."
Captain Westwood said the helicopter had earlier been zapped by another laser pen a few miles away and aircraft were increasingly being targeted by people with the devices.
After the pilot called for back-up, officers were directed to the house on Larwood Avenue and Bottomley admitted he was responsible.
Judge Mushtaz Khokhar, sentencing, said he had to make an example of him and imposed a "deterrent" sentence.
"You were reckless. There was a risk of catastrophic consequences ensuing if the pilot lost control of his helicopter," he said.
Speaking after the hearing, Supt John O'Hare, of Greater Manchester Police's Tactical Support Section, said Bottomley's actions "almost defied belief".
"This could clearly have had disastrous consequences for the helicopter and its crew.
"In different circumstances this incident could have resulted in a serious injury or even death.
"People might think that this is some sort of amusing prank, but I can assure you that it could have had deadly consequences."


Added: Jun-27-2008 
By: pheasantplucker
In:
News
Tags: Police, helicopter, pilot, laser, manchester, preston, burnley, arrested, uk, england
Marked as: approved
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  • "After the pilot called for back-up, officers were directed to the house on Larwood Avenue and Bottomley admitted he was responsible."

    Heh, dumbass. I still don't understand how the pilot could have known the exact location of the source if he was "temporarily blinded."

    Posted Jun-27-2008 By 

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  • Comment of user 'smigg' has been deleted by moderator!
  • Just for info, Police helicopter pilots are civilian pilots, and have no police powers.
    Your average 'bobby' wouldn't have the aptitude or mental capacity to become a pilot!

    Posted Jun-27-2008 By 

    (1)

  • Bull Crap - a hand held laser would be impossible to zero on a moving chopper for anything more than a brief pass across the cab, over and over... the green laser can be see from the side, RED cannot be seen from the side... so use RED to paint the PIGS..

    It would be hard to catch him too, unless he left it on and up for a long time.... i think it sounds bogus..

    Posted Jun-27-2008 By 

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  • I want buy one!

    Posted Jun-27-2008 By 

    (0)

  • Comment of user 'goodonpaper' has been deleted by moderator!
    • Propoganda m8. They're really scared of the more powerful lasers. They don't want to say publicly that these pointers are harmless so as not to tip off the "crims" to use more powerful gear...

      Posted Jun-27-2008 By 

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  • unless the laser is directly pointing at someone's eye for more than a few seconds i don't see how it can blind anyone

    i've had those pens pointed at my eyes before. i also looked at an eclipse. vision still relatively alright. lol.

    Posted Jun-27-2008 By 

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    • The fact that he claims to have spent £30 on it (bearing in mind you can get a laser for less than £5,) and the article mentions that the beam was green coloured, would suggest that he was using a higher powered laser like this one...
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1vlNpLq-Dg ...which is easily bought for less than £20 from ebay. I think it's easy to see how even a short exposure from a moderate distance could temporarily blind someone.

      Posted Jun-27-2008 By 

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  • Should of been tree years imprison. You need to set an example in case some other idiot wants to do it. If you don't like the police, then don't bother calling them if you get broken into, or a female family member gets raped.

    Posted Jun-27-2008 By 

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  • Still its better than an rpg up the wazoo.

    Posted Jun-27-2008 By 

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  • Dammit, if you're going to "lase" a copter or plane, use a really powerful laser that detaches the retina, so they have something REAL to bitch about!

    Posted Jun-27-2008 By 

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  • Oh by the way the MILITARY has a version of a laser that WILL BLIND YOU.... ooooops...

    Posted Jun-27-2008 By 

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