TA-ANALYSIS: Terrorists Attempt to Blind Pilots by Laser

Would not a beam that filled up a cockpit have to come from above the plane or at least on a paralell with it.

I thought they said it was believed that they were being tracked by some kind of laser equipped weaponry at one point. It doesnt seem to be a very effective way to bring down planes, and to me it seems that it would be hard to even shine into pilots eyes when the plane is in the air since there is such a large cone and undercarriage that completely blocks view of the cockpit windows if you are on the ground.
but, what do I know!?

I wouldnt be so sure this is terrorism, if it is, they havent been so successful at knocking down many planes from the skies, have they?

I'm not saying i know what it is, but i think a hardened terrorist could come up with something better and more foolproof than this

Any movement from your hand could ruin aim but it could also wave the beam into the pilots eyes as well, the beam could also be spread out more at that distance.

My thought is to look at the company that is offering the "shielding" that can be used on the windows...

Planes can almost land themselves... if both pilots were blind, and no one was in the control tower, they could probably still land...
so the LAST possiblilty i would consider is terrorism.
THE ORDER OF POSSIBLILTIES IS:

1. badly orchestrated college prank
2. incentive to order COSTLY protection
3. some dufus with a class project...
4. the same guy that tortures little animals got a new christmas present...

How about using a system whereby the pilot and co-pilot are looking outside the aircraft by means of a video system? It would not be as good as direct vision in some respects, perhaps better in other respects, but just as you can look at the image of the sun on a digital camera without sunburning your retina, you could look at the image of a laser beam on a video monitor with no ill effects whatever. The slight time lag characteristic of digital camera monitors would have to be eliminated. I personally would like to see in precise realtime where the ground is rather see where it was a fraction of a second ago. This system could use either large monitors that obscure the windows or goggles with video screens in them. Such systems could be used all the time or reserved for use when the aircraft is considered to be within range of terrorists' or misguided pranksters' laser devices.

Originally posted by phreak_of_nature
Course since they spent all that money on cockpit doors, there must not be anything left for window tinting.

Tinted windows on planes? What next, spoilers? Maybe some mufflers for the engines? Some under-wing neon lighting perhaps and hydraulics to look good for the ho's when the pilot pulls up at the Terminal?

"New to MTV: Pimp My Boeing!"



Sorry, I couldn't resist....

Seriously though, how is this even possible? I can accept that "terrorists" might be in possession of a laser, but how is it targeted, powered and transported? Seems to me to be an awfully big logistical effort that wouldn't go unnoticed.