Laser Injures Pilots At La Guardia Airport
According to an NBC affiliate, pilots and police officers were injured by a laser being pointed at aircraft taking off and landing at La Guardia Airport. The alleged laser pointer is Frank Egan. The thirty-six year old man lives in the Schuylerville section of the Bronx, and the NYPD aviation unit reportedly tracked the laser beam to his apartment on Coddington Avenue.
The laser beam affected pilots on two aircraft. The pilot of an Air Canada flight was treated in Toronto for injuries he sustained from the laser beam. Two police officers were injured in a helicopter. They were treated and released from a local hospital.
The Federal Aviation Administration had been aware of the laser beams being pointed at aircraft as they were taking off and landing at LaGuardia. They notified the New York Police Department and the aviation unit was dispatched to the area. After officers arrived at the apartment, they were allowed to enter the home, and a “Laser 303” was located on top of a refrigerator. Officers state that the suspect admitted to pointing the laser, and he was taken into custody. He has since recanted and stated that he was sleeping instead.
Mr. Egan was charged with reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a weapon, assault on a police officer, felony assault, and menacing a police officer.
