LONDON AIRPORT DISASTER FEAR AS LASER PEN ATTACKERS BLIND PILOTS AS THEY LAND JETS!

FEARS of a major plane disaster at British airports have been exposedc after jet pilots were regularly "blinded" by laser pens as they came in to land.

Pilots will be allowed to land a plane 22 hours after they woke up

As the European Commission considers pilots' working conditions, the The British Airline Pilots' Association (Balpa) warned of the dangers facing plane passengers.
The Sunday Express exclsively reported that thousands of pilots are being blinded by laser pen attackers at Britain’s busiest airports.
Landing planes are being targeted at the rate of five times a day by beams from high intensity laser pens.
They range from as little as £12 to £400 for a powerful beam reaching 200 miles. Last year, 1,570 laser attack incidents were logged with the CAA and in 2011 the figure was 1,911.
Balpa was forced to issue an emergency bulletin to members to help them avoid losing control of their planes.
They now want the law changed to make flying safer for pilots.

       

Daily Star has it that, Balpa spokesman Richard Toomer said: “Laser attacks on aircraft are a growing problem. They are incredibly dangerous.

“We believe it is time for the Government to look seriously at the criminalisation of the possession of high-powered lasers for those without a legitimate reason to have one.
“We believe the police need the power to confiscate these weapons and the judiciary need to better realise the danger involved.
“Slaps on wrists and £150 fines are not enough. Custodial sentences should be the norm.”
There have been reports of lasers being used to target planes from Sydney, Australia to Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
This comes as MEPs are to vote today on changes Balpa warn will allow pilots to land an aircraft after being awake for 22 hours.
Figures show that 56% of pilots admit to having fallen asleep on the flight deck.
Even more worryingly, of those who admitted this nearly one in three said they woke to find the other pilot asleep.
Jim McAuslan, general Secretary of Balpa, said pilots are: “Deeply concerned that unscientific new EU rules will cut UK standards and lead to increased levels of tiredness, which has been shown to be a major contributory factor in air accidents.

There have been thousands of attacks recorded in the last two years [ALAMY]

“Why this government is bending the knee to Europe rather than the wisdom of the piloting profession with over 40 million flying hours experience is as baffling as it is dangerous.”
Balpa say changes will allow pilots to land an aircraft after being awake for 22 hours and fly long haul flights with a crew of two rather than the current three.
They add that pilots will work up to seven early starts in a row instead of three, increasing the risk of air accidents.
But the Civil Aviation Authority say the proposed changes are based on scientific evidence and will increase passenger safety.
A spokesman said: “Aviation safety is our number one priority. We think the new European flight time limitation regulations maintain the UK’s current high safety levels and will actually increase safety for UK passengers travelling on some other European airlines.”