A Wall Street Journal report said that the twelve offices of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation are offering on Tuesday $10,000 for information that will lead to arresting perpetrators who shine lasers at aircraft. The practice is reportedly dangerous, as the lasers could render aircraft pilots blind temporarily, which in turn, could cause major airway accidents.
Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Michael Huerta commented about the FBI's odd but sensible efforts and said, "Shining a laser into the cockpit of an aircraft can temporarily blind a pilot, jeopardizing the safety of everyone on board. We applaud our colleagues at the Justice Department for aggressively prosecuting aircraft laser incidents and we will continue to use civil penalties to further deter this dangerous activity."
WSJ said the following offices that had extended the reward offer are in Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Juan, P.R, Washington, DC, Albuquerque, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York City. Officials have said that the reward program, which will lead to the arrest of people who aim laser pointers at plans deliberately, will run for roughly 3 months or 60 days.
The newspaper said that accidents caused by laser pointers had risen significantly in the last few years. When FBI started tracking incidents caused by laser pointers in 2005, it was found that there had been a total of 283 for that year alone. Last year, FBI noted that there were 3,960 reported laser strikes, or the equivalent of 11 laser strikes at aircraft on a daily basis, WSJ said.
FBI's Criminal Investigative Division head Ron Hosko said about the reward program, "It is important that people understand that this is a criminal act with potentially deadly repercussions.'' A person found guilty of such act will be awarded a prison sentence that could run up to five years, WSJ said.
