Richmond RCMP are investigating after three flights arriving and departing from the Vancouver International Airport were hit by lasers this week.
RCMP said the incidents all happened on Monday. Under Canada’s Aeronautics Act, someone convicted of pointing a laser into an aircraft cockpit could face fines of up to $100,000 and up to five years in jail.
The light is potentially blinding for pilots when it fills the plane’s cockpit and can cause instant and irreparable damage to the retina if a pilot takes a direct hit.
Richmond RCMP said no one was injured in the three cases. Officials tracked the laser pointer to the Steveston area but did not find the person responsible.
On the same night, a West Jet flight that departed from Vancouver was hit by a laser while landing in Ottawa. The plane landed safely but both pilots suffered eye injuries.
WestJet spokesperson Brie Ogle said the light from the laser lit up the flight deck for about four minutes affecting the pilot and the first officer.
"We take the health and safety of our pilots, crew and everybody at WestJet very seriously and when someone jeopardizes that, then we don't take too kindly to it," she said.
Police investigated a similar incident in January when three aircraft flying over Metro Vancouver were targeted by lasers in the same night.
Similar incidents happened almost 500 times across Canada in 2013, up 25 per cent from 2012. Lasers hit flights an average of 3,800 times per year in the United States.
Richmond RCMP Sgt. Cam Kowlaski is part of an aviation safety committee lobbying the federal government to enact laser use legislation.
With files from CTV Vancouver’s Scott Hurst
