Skydiver Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 My understanding is that it is illegal to point a laser at aircraft. As I was watching Modern Marvel's episode about survival gear, they noted one of the newer pieces of equipment is the laser signalling device and that you can point it at aircraft flying overhead to signal that you need help. Does a stranded hiker need to choose between felony charges leading to 20 years in prison, or dying in the wilderness? Is there a special exception in the law about using the laser with regards to aircraft in emergency situations, or just a matter of keeping fingers crossed that charges are not filed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyburg Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 In a life and death situation there is always an exception. With every law there is a list of required elements to be able to charge an individual with a charge. Lasers come in various grades, take lirdar, prob spelled wrong, laser radar guns that law enforcement utilizes. They aim at a vehicle and pull the trigger. What is the individuals intent? To save his or her life. Just pointing a laser at a plane for the hell of it, your going to get in trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodownzero Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Google "mens rea" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe4d Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 some how I get the impression waving a hand held laser pointer at an airplane, would probably get you ignored. If your gonna carry something around with you howabout something useful, like a compass, or a lighter, or some common sense to not get lost in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Boudrie Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Google "mens rea" Mens rea is not always a requirement for a conviction, especially for laws in which the government wishes to prove a point. Google "strict liability". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pro-Pain Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 2 hunters were lost in the woods. 1st guy says to fire 3 times in the air to show they're in distress. No avail. They wait a few hours and shoot again. Still no help, so they try again. 2nd guy leans over and says, "I hope help comes soon. It's getting dark and we're almost out of arrows." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skydiver Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 2 hunters were lost in the woods. 1st guy says to fire 3 times in the air to show they're in distress. No avail. They wait a few hours and shoot again. Still no help, so they try again. 2nd guy leans over and says, "I hope help comes soon. It's getting dark and we're almost out of arrows." Thanks! That made my Friday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Spencer Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Its my understanding that unless the pilot is using night vision goggles, Lasers are very inevictive and hard to see from the cockpit. I was in a training class last year with our Medical Helicopter pilots and they told us we could use the lasers from our Tazers to direct them to our LZ. They use night vision and I guess it stands out very well. We have a state law prohibiting the pointing of lasers at aircraft but like was mentioned earlier, there other elements to the law that also have to be met. Using the laser in an emergency situation would be allowed. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodownzero Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Google "mens rea" Mens rea is not always a requirement for a conviction, especially for laws in which the government wishes to prove a point. Google "strict liability". I assume you meant "strict liability crime" rather than "strict liability." I know I'm not alone in thinking there'd be pretty serious constitutional defects with imprisoning someone based on pointing a laser at an aircraft in an emergency situation. That said, I know where you're going with that--the decline of mens rea is not exactly a novel concept. Although I won't claim that this is the only case on the subject, or that there aren't contrary cases, if anyone is interested in a mens rea case that also involves firearms, see Staples v. United States, 511 U.S. 600 (1994). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Carter Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 (edited) You can buy a strobe signaler like this for about $60 firefly and sometimes ebay has military surplus units for sale. If you want to spend the money the gps units like used in aircraft but also handheld are probably the very best chance at being rescued, not cheap but if you really need them priceless. GPS survival transmitter Here is a youtube video about an idiot getting arrested for laser painting a police helo Edited October 9, 2011 by Ross Carter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pro-Pain Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 1) Laser pointers were recently in the news, like a few weeks ago. Anybody catch why? I just heard it coming in the house but missed it. 2) I think it's with anything else, if you're doing it for an emergency, it's ok. If you're doing it to be a dick, then you deserve what you're getting. 3) what if you use one of these?: http://www.amazon.com/High-Power-200mW-Laser-Visible-Daytime/dp/B001BYFS8S/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=miscellaneous&qid=1219547549&sr=8-4 4) I didnt think laser pointers had that long of an effective range. I know green (532 nM) lasers you can see for a mile, but airplanes travel at what, 25-35,000 feet? 5-6 miles up? At that distance wouldn't the laser beam break up, not make it as focused as to cause damage (to say the retina/eyes), and just appear as a red light? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Ho Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Do a search for Wicked lasers. There are other companies making lasers this strong as well. These will reach for many many miles. Not what I'd call a safe thing to do though. I like the idea of just not getting lost in the first place. I still want a 1W green laser though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Boudrie Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 I assume you meant "strict liability crime" rather than "strict liability." Exactly. I know I'm not alone in thinking there'd be pretty serious constitutional defects with imprisoning someone based on pointing a laser at an aircraft in an emergency situation. The constitution is void where prohibited by law which includes MA, NY, CA, NJ and a few other places Not what I'd call a safe thing to do though. Some of the Wicked Laser units are powerful enough to cause permanent eye damage, even off a reflection, in a fraction of a second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COMATZD Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 4) I didnt think laser pointers had that long of an effective range. I know green (532 nM) lasers you can see for a mile, but airplanes travel at what, 25-35,000 feet? 5-6 miles up? At that distance wouldn't the laser beam break up, not make it as focused as to cause damage (to say the retina/eyes), and just appear as a red light? I've got a green laser that we lit up at over 3 miles in some rolling countryside in the dark. And you can see the beam scatter from the side, easily back-tracing the origin. It was designed for target painting obviously without concern for detection (not IR). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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