Photo Credit: FAA & Air Force video screenshot
Pilot blinded by laser beam (illustration photo)

(JNi.media) Flight LY81 departing from Ben Gurion Airport to Bangkok on Sunday night was targeted with a green laser at least 3 times, according to a passenger who contacted JNi.media. The passenger, who lives in Samaria, identified the laser beam as coming from the village of Beit Ur al-Tachta, some 15 miles from the airport.

Dozens of pilots in the US and Europe have reported being flashed with green laser beams. When somebody aims a laser at the cockpit, it can flash-blind the pilot to the point that he can’t see anything. If the beam gets both eyes, the pilot is disabled.

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Last year, the FAA reported 3,894 laser incidents, and this year pilots in the US have already experienced more than 2,750 laser flashes.

An El Al spokesperson told JNi.media she could not confirm or deny the information, as the company does not keep a record of these incidents. According to the spokesperson, the green lasers pose no risk to El Al flights, and El Al complies with all security requirements.

Flight tracking websites such as Flight Aware help track the progress of flights to and from Ben Gurion. A terrorist living near the airport, looking to disrupt an El Al flight, could easily use websites like this to determine if the flight that just took off belongs to El Al.

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