FAA: Plane Headed Into JFK Struck With Green Laser
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The crew of a plane landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport Friday evening reported being disrupted by a laser.
Virgin America Flight 24 was headed from San Francisco International Airport to JFK, and was four miles northwest of the airport at an altitude of 6,000 feet when a green laser illuminated the cockpit at 9:45 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The Airbus A320 aircraft left safely and no one was injured, the FAA said.
The FAA has notified the NYPD and will investigate.
Pointing a laser at an aircraft is a federal crime punishable by thousands of dollars in fines or even prison time. Last year, a California man was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Through Oct. 16 of this year, the FAA said there had been 17 laser strikes reported near Kennedy Airport, 65 near LaGuardia and 55 near Newark.
Around the country, the FAA said there had been more than 5,000 reports of aircraft hit by lasers this year as of earlier this month.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has proposed a law that would ban the sale of green lasers.
"Sooner or later, a pilot will be blinded, and sooner or later, there will be unnecessary tragedy and even death," Schumer said.