NJ man charged in laser beam vs airplane pilot incident...

as reported today at Newsday and elsewhere (ht: Steve, tx):

The defendant, David Banach, 38, first claimed his daughter aimed a laser at a helicopter, but later admitted to federal agents that he pointed the light beam at two aircraft near Teterboro Airport last week, authorities said.

He was charged Tuesday with interfering with the operator of a mass transportation vehicle and making false statements to the FBI. He faces up to 25 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000 if convicted.

and:

Mendola-Longarzo (ed: Banach's attorney) said Banach was using the beam to look up at the stars, and was shining it at trees and neighbors' houses. He uses the $100 device, which he bought over the Internet, for his job with a local labor union, testing fiber optic cables for holes, she said.

"He wasn't trying to harm any person, any aircraft or anything like that," she said.

The FBI took a much dimmer view of his actions.

"What was done was foolhardy and negligent," said Joseph Billy, special agent in charge of the FBI's Newark bureau. "While this particular incident was not terrorism-related, the FBI considers this an extremely serious matter. Not only was the safety of the pilot and passengers placed in jeopardy by Banach's actions; so were countless innocent civilians on the ground in this densely populated area."

So, don't go around pointing your laser where it doesn't belong - we get the point. But is prosecution of this guy, along with the attendant costs of adjudication, costs to house him in Club-Fed, etc really worth the investment? Did we really know that aiming a $100 laser pointer at an airplane was against the law? Intellectually speaking, it should probably occur to us that, in the post-9/11 mindset of our country, that the appearance of a laser dot on the side of an airplane would, understandably, cause some sort of ruckus. And a laser could be, theoretically, used as a weapon to blind or distract pilots in a terrorist plot. 

Ignorance is not a defense, granted...but I don't particularly agree that my taxes should pay to house this guy for 25 years. Charge him for the costs of the hovering FBI-copters, perhaps...

We'll have to see how this one plays out. 

Comments

[Chef Paulette]

I might be wrong. . . BUT, I think there's something stinky about this "goofing around" with a laser in the backyard. We'll see. . .

The Chef

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