Nationwide laser strike crisis: FAA reports 2023 as record year

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - Laser strikes have become a concerning problem for aircraft in the sky above Georgia.

The FAA says the number of strikes just keeps going up.

Gwinnett County Police Chief Pilot Markus Lapitsky is just one of several who have their eyes on the sky above one of Georgia's largest counties, but as he serves and protects from the air, his eyes sometimes take a hit.

"That laser hits that windscreen or the windshield, if you will, and it just bounces off all the other windscreens in the aircraft and just brightens up that cockpit where we can't see anything," he said.

The Gwinnett County Police Department says last year a laser was pointed at its helicopters about 12 times, landing four people in jail.

Lapitsky has been with the aviation unit about seven years and says they are seeing more laser strikes.

"That causes us to not only second guess ourselves, but if we're blinded, we can't see the gauges inside the aircraft," he said. "We can get disoriented, and we can possibly lose control, which can lead to a tragic event."

It is not just a problem in Gwinnett County, but a nationwide issue. The Federal Aviation Administration says 2023 was a record year with more than 13,000 reports from coast to coast.

Georgia had the 9th most in the country. The FAA says laser strikes are up about 27% in the state in just a year.

"Recently, we've made pointing a laser at an aircraft a federal crime, which carries with it significant penalties and even, in some cases, some jail time," said Kevin Morris from the FAA.

In Gwinnett County, Lapitsky says when they catch those responsible, one of the first things people say is they did not think it was a big deal or did not know it was a police helicopter.

"We're out there working and we're emergency responders, first responders, so it's important for us to do our job," he said. "Then we get these laser strikes, it prevents us from doing that."

Shining a laser at an aircraft is against the law. If you are found, you could face not only state charges but federal ones too.