Laser beam intrusion poses growing threat to passengers, pilots safety: Experts

Following the on March 28 incident in which Air India flight AI 746 from Agartala to Kolkata encountered a laser beam intrusion inside the cockpit during landing at Kolkata Airport that had occurred when the aircraft was 11 nautical miles away from the airport Experts have raised concerns regarding the issue citing safety of passengers as pilots get blinded by laser beam intrusion during landing phaseIn the recent incident a powerful laser directed skyward from somewhere around the airport beamed into the cockpit of the Air India flight and momentarily blinded the pilots as they were preparing to land at Kolkata airport on Thursday eveningMeanwhile last month the pilots reported five similar casesThe IncidentThe airlinersquos complaint to the airport operator was taken up with the airport police station According to airport officials ldquothe pilot of flight AI 746 from Agartala to Kolkata encountered the problem when he was around 11 nautical miles or 20 km from the airportrdquoAccording to the pilotrsquos statement to the police post the incident the beam of light appeared to originate somewhere southeast of New Town There were 146 passengers and six crew members on board the aircraft that touched down at 810 pm on ThursdayldquoLaser intrusion is turning into a major menace at Kolkata airport The matter was reported at the environment management committee meeting attended by Bengal home secretary Nandini Chakravorty Since then the problem has become more acuterdquo said an airline staffer ldquoPilots earlier encountered the problem during festivals like Durga Puja Kali Puja and New Year it has now been surfacing during the wedding season as wellrdquo He addedExperts raise concernsThe incident has once again triggered alarm among airlines pilots and experts about the increasing instances of violation of restrictions imposed on use of lasers near the airport Another such incident was reported by an IndiGo pilot on March 15 Last month five such cases were reported by pilotsCapt Mohan Ranganathan an Industry expert in conversation with midday revealed ldquoIf the laser beam is beamed at the cockpit the pilot can be blinded temporarily and could lead having an accident as they would not be able to judge the landing if they are blinded It takes some time for the blinding effect to wear off The police are supposed to act immediately The pilots report such incidents to the tower ATC and they give the position where they were the police are supposed to act immediately which did not happen during the incident or even earlier Indigo Flight being beamed incident If the aircraft is on an ILS Instrument landing system approach it will not be much of an issue but hand flying the aircraft in a blinded state can lead to an accidentrdquoAnother senior aviation staffer currently working as a flight instructor for new pilots disclosed ldquoImagine you are driving a car and suddenly someone flashes a laser beam on your face naturally you will be momentarily blinded In case of a car the vehicle is already on the ground but in case of an aircraft the pilots have to bring the plane on the ground at a much higher speed than that of a car On top of this the pilots have to handle various buttons switches and peddles alongside keeping an eye on the airspeed of the aircraft so that the wings do not stall aircraft drops out of the air due to lack of airspeed over the wingrdquoHe added ldquoOnce on ground the pilots need to keep the aircraft stable on the runway using rudder paddles controlled by legs but if the blinding effect hasnrsquot worn off till this time there is a possibility of the aircraft skidding off of the runway and much worse colliding with another aircraft taxiing on a parallel taxiway next to the runway Similarly pilots in air also have to land the aircraft manually in case an ILS approach isnrsquot available at the airport due to lack of Localisers radio beacon to guide the aircraft to the runway In this case pilots have to rely on the PAPI Precision Approach Path Indicator lights which the pilot will not be able to see in case of a blinding which can cause a major disasterrdquoThe fight instructor also added ldquothis is a very serious issue and needs to be dealt with such severity Luckily during the Kolkata incident or other five incidents reported in the last month there were no accidentsrdquoAnother senior Pilot while talking to Midday said ldquothis is a very concerning issue Not just at Kolkata airport but at any airport across India People while partying or booming lasers do not realise that it might temporarily blind a pilot on its final approach to the runway We have to not just land the plane safely but also make sure everything with the aircraft is in an ok condition before landing and complete the landing checklist so that the landing is a smooth one If a laser beam blinds us during this sterile phase any flight below an altitude of 10000 ft the cockpit of the flight is considered to be in a sterile phase and is a very crucial phase of the flight it can be very much disastrous The pilot of base leg or final leg can miss the runway or even have the autopilot misconfigured in an attempt to configure it for landing That way it is not just the lives of souls on board number of individuals on board at stake but even the civilians as the misconfigured autopilot can make the aircraft crash into a building or even crash on a busy street which can cause mass casualtyrdquoLocal Police speakThough all the complaints have been forwarded to Bidhannagar City Police officers said it was challenging to identify the locations from where laser beams are directed skyward We had banned the use of all laser beams earlier But people need to be aware of the problem it poses and stop using it during ceremonies and festivals a senior officer from Bidhannagar police airport division told midday