Laser beam targeted Qantas pilot on approach in Darwin
An ABC report says that police and aviation authorities are investigating an incident in which a powerful laser beam was shone at a Qantas pilot on a flight into Darwin last Friday.
Qantas spokesman Lloyd Quartermain says the pilot was targeted by the beam during the flight’s descent into Darwin Airport, just before midnight on the August 3.
The crew alerted the local air traffic control tower and the pilot completed a successful landing.
The plane, on a flight from Sydney, was carrying 185 passengers.
Mr Quartermain refused to say if the pilot was injured, but said he travelled as a passenger on the return leg to Sydney as a precautionary measure.
He has now been referred to the airline’s doctor for assessment.
Peter Sommerville from the Australian and International Pilots Association says it is the latest in a series of incidents targeting planes near airports.
“The last thing pilots want is a distraction in either the take-off or the landing part of the flight,” he said.
Northern Territory police, Australian Federal Police, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau have launched an investigation.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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