Author Topic: Laser Prankster Nabbed By Victim, A Pilot  (Read 3661 times)

Offline EHM-1749 Hector

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Laser Prankster Nabbed By Victim, A Pilot
« on: May 05, 2008, 04:36:05 pm »
Hit twice on the same night by a laser beam, Mark Westwood, a helicopter pilot for the British police, found justice ... and the man responsible. Westwood was momentarily blinded by the beam, but kept control of his helicopter and turned his thermal imaging camera on the culprit. It turns out that 20-year-old Dean Bottomley had targeted the helicopter from his bedroom with a green laser pen and in moments, Westwood had his location locked. In minutes, police arrived and arrested Bottomley at his home. Stating that he was "just having a laugh," according to the Mirror UK, Bottomley now faces a potential jail term of five years for admitting to endangering an aircraft and will contemplate that fact until his June 6 sentencing date. "He knows he has been very stupid," offered his attorney. Bottomley, who reportedly bought the laser pen on eBay, added, "I didn't realize just how serious it was."

Good pilots keep their number of landings equal to their number of takeoffs. Takeoffs are optional but landings are Mandatory.

EHM-1671 Ben

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Laser Prankster Nabbed By Victim, A Pilot
« Reply #1 on: May 05, 2008, 11:34:36 pm »
Hard to believe he's 20 and doesn't realize how dangerous that can be :o

Offline EHM-2155 Mariano

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Laser Prankster Nabbed By Victim, A Pilot
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2008, 02:45:45 am »
The article description in eBay maybe said "Almost new. Only thing missing is the "Dont point towards other people's eyes" warning label."

Offline EHM-2097 Andrei

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Laser Prankster Nabbed By Victim, A Pilot
« Reply #3 on: May 06, 2008, 07:44:11 am »
Quote
Originally posted by EHM-2155 Mariano
Only thing missing is the "Dont point towards other people's eyes" warning label.

And the other missing notice: "especially while those other people are airborne".

This is because, from the original post, I understand the major offence was endangering the aircraft not the pilot as a person. While I can understand this as an aviation enthusiast, it still seems a little odd.
Andrei Vatasescu // EHM-2097


Offline EHM-1883 Matt

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Laser Prankster Nabbed By Victim, A Pilot
« Reply #4 on: August 09, 2008, 05:39:02 pm »
That's a good game. Shine the laser at the Helicopter and see if it crashes! If it doesn't crash, try again. If it does, run!

I can't believe some people:%