A young Dundee pilot has told of how he was forced to divert his plane after a laser was “persistently” shone into the cockpit.
Liam Molloy, 19, was on a night-time training exercise for his Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence when he was dazzled several times by the laser beam, while descending over Fife.
Police are still carrying out enquiries to catch the culprit, who was believed to have been in the Methil area at the time of the incident on Sunday evening.
Liam said it was the second time his aircraft has been targeted by a laser within a year.
He explained: “When we fly at night, the lights in the cockpit are off and the instruments are dimly lit to allow our eyes to accustom to the darkness outside.
“We need to be able to see other aircraft around us.
“So when someone shines a laser, it’s like suddenly switching on the lights in a dark room.
“It dazzles the pilot and it then takes 30 minutes for our eyes to adjust to the dark again.
“On Sunday we were descending over Methil when one of the passengers, who was also a pilot, said that he saw a light shining from the ground.
“As he said it I looked towards him, and the beam hit me.
“The person shining it was quite relentless it lasted about a minute-and-a-half, with repetitive flashing and lighting up of the cockpit.
“They seemed to be quite persistent and intent on disrupting the flight.”
“I was dazzled several times, so rather than hope it would go away we changed course and eventually landed safely at Dundee airport.”
Liam explained that, as well as being a dangerous distraction, strong lasers have the potential to permanently damage the eyesight of a pilot.
He added: “If a pilot’s eyesight is damaged then they can no longer fly.
“It’s a rare scenario but it could happen if the laser is strong enough.
Liam added that presently people, including children, can buy military-strength lasers online with no checks.
And it wasn’t the first time he had been targeted. “I had a similar experience last year, in the Dundee area,” he revealed.
Anybody with information that can help police is asked to call 101 or Crime stoppers on 0800 555 111.