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A green laser directed at a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter temporarily blinded the aircrew and forced them to abandon a search for three orange flares spotted near Garden City this morning.
This is the third time in three weeks that a laser has hindered Coast Guard searches in the Grand Strand, Petty Officer 3rd Class Jessica Potter said in an email.
The aircrew from Charleston had just arrived to start searching about 1:45 a.m. when the laser forced the crew to land. One of the crew members received direct laser exposure and was not cleared to fly again until this afternoon, Potter said.
A Coast Guard boat crew from Georgetown was directed to take over the search but didn’t arrive until about two hours later. A helicopter flew in from Savannah to continue the search at dawn. The search ended later this morning without ever finding the source of the flares.
When a laser is directed into a Coast Guard aircraft, the aircrew has to stop searching immediately and land, according to the Coast Guard. The crew is grounded until each person has an eye exam and is cleared by a flight surgeon. This process can take up to 24 hours, depending on when and where the incident occurred. Additionally, there is typically a two- to three-hour delay to get a new helicopter and crew on scene to resume a search.
Cmdr. Gregory Fuller, commanding officer at Air Station Savannah, which provides Coast Guard air support for the Grand Strand, has deemed the entire Grand Strand very high risk and now requires aircrews to consider laser risk in the area before responding to a distress call.
“We’ve been very fortunate that the green laser incidents haven’t yet resulted in tragedy,” Fuller said in the email. “But every time we send our aircrews to the Grand Strand, we’re telling them to fly into the equivalent of a storm, where it’s almost guaranteed they’ll be hit. We’re simply asking the public to stop putting Coast Guard men and women in senseless and unnecessary danger.”
The Federal Aviation Administration reports lasing incidents rose 902 percent from 2005 to 2011. Shining any laser at an aircraft is a federal offense under 14 CFR 19.11. A conviction can result in prison terms as long as five years, fines of up to $11,000 and five years probation.
Green laser grounds another Grand Strand Coast Guard search crew | The Post and Courier | Charleston SC, News, Sports, Entertainment
This is the third time in three weeks that a laser has hindered Coast Guard searches in the Grand Strand, Petty Officer 3rd Class Jessica Potter said in an email.
The aircrew from Charleston had just arrived to start searching about 1:45 a.m. when the laser forced the crew to land. One of the crew members received direct laser exposure and was not cleared to fly again until this afternoon, Potter said.
A Coast Guard boat crew from Georgetown was directed to take over the search but didn’t arrive until about two hours later. A helicopter flew in from Savannah to continue the search at dawn. The search ended later this morning without ever finding the source of the flares.
When a laser is directed into a Coast Guard aircraft, the aircrew has to stop searching immediately and land, according to the Coast Guard. The crew is grounded until each person has an eye exam and is cleared by a flight surgeon. This process can take up to 24 hours, depending on when and where the incident occurred. Additionally, there is typically a two- to three-hour delay to get a new helicopter and crew on scene to resume a search.
Cmdr. Gregory Fuller, commanding officer at Air Station Savannah, which provides Coast Guard air support for the Grand Strand, has deemed the entire Grand Strand very high risk and now requires aircrews to consider laser risk in the area before responding to a distress call.
“We’ve been very fortunate that the green laser incidents haven’t yet resulted in tragedy,” Fuller said in the email. “But every time we send our aircrews to the Grand Strand, we’re telling them to fly into the equivalent of a storm, where it’s almost guaranteed they’ll be hit. We’re simply asking the public to stop putting Coast Guard men and women in senseless and unnecessary danger.”
The Federal Aviation Administration reports lasing incidents rose 902 percent from 2005 to 2011. Shining any laser at an aircraft is a federal offense under 14 CFR 19.11. A conviction can result in prison terms as long as five years, fines of up to $11,000 and five years probation.
Green laser grounds another Grand Strand Coast Guard search crew | The Post and Courier | Charleston SC, News, Sports, Entertainment