Connecticut lawmakers are considering a proposed law that would prohibit anyone from intentionally projecting a laser at an aircraft or the flight path of an aircraft, making it a Class A misdemeanor, according to the measure.
“It is a very basic safety concern,” said Rep. Aimee Berger-Girvalo, D-Ridgefield, co-chair of the Transportation Committee which unanimously passed the bill.
“Projecting a laser at an aircraft or in its flight path can have extremely dangerous, if not flat out deadly, consequences,” Berger-Girvalo said.
HB 6861 would establish a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $2,000, up to 364 days in prison, or both, for anyone who intentionally projects a laser at an aircraft or the flight path of an aircraft.
The FAA recently reported that laser strikes continue to be dangerously high. The agency reports 2,846 of these laser strikes to date this year.
Pilots reported 12,840 laser strikes to the FAA last year, according to the FAA.
“While that is a 3% decrease from 2023, the numbers are still too high,” the FAA said in a release. “A laser can incapacitate pilots, putting thousands of passengers at risk every year.”
The agency reported that, a strike, or shining a laser at an aircraft, “poses a serious safety threat and is a federal crime. Lasers can incapacitate pilots, many of whom are flying airplanes with hundreds of passengers. Pilots have reported 328 injuries since the FAA began tracking laser strike reports in 2010.”
Michael Shea, executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority, wrote in his testimony in support of the bill that lasers pose a threat to pilots if they reflect in the cockpit. He wrote that the CAA and Connecticut State Police continue to receive regular reports of laser strikes in Connecticut year after year.
Shea added that the legislation would provide a deterrent to the activity.
There were six reported laser strikes in the state this year, according to data from the FAA. In 2024 there were 52 such incidents, FAA data shows.
Amid controversy late last year about drone sightings, federal and local authorities warned against pointing lasers at suspected drones, because aircraft pilots are being hit in the eyes more often. Authorities also said at the time that they were concerned people might fire weapons at manned aircraft that they have mistaken for drones.
Rep. Gary Turco, D-Newington, a member of the Transportation Committee, said legislators attempted to pass a bill last year about the lasers.
“That is a very serious concern where someone could interfere with a flight using some sort of technology like a laser pointing it at the plane,” he said. “This is already illegal in other parts of the country and we are sort of playing catch up.”
Rep. Geraldo Reyes, D-Waterbury, also a member of the Transportation Committee, agreed that this legislation should have already been in place.
“To me it is very simple,” he said. “It is all about safety and awareness. You know we have had so many near misses and so many accidents. I know air travel is still the safest way to go.”
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“If you are following the news in the last year or so the airline industry has definitely taken a hit on safety, quality and maintenance and overall procedures that they are supposed to be doing and they are not,” Reyes said. “I would say we put everything we can to make sure we ensure safety in everything that we do. Nobody should be pointing lasers at planes.”
Reach Livi Stanford at lstanford@courant.com.