A Rochester, Minnesota man has learned a very tough lesson and will have 2 years in a prison cell to think about what he did. It is never okay to point a laser at an airplane.

Jamese Link was sentenced to two years in jail for pointing a bright blue laser at a Delta Airlines flight. The incident occurred in October 2021 when the aircraft was on the way to Minneapolis from North Carolina. Pilots claimed the cockpit was "lit up three times" and interrupted plans to land. The captain also said his vision was impacted for several hours.

 

Air traffic control in Minneapolis notified Minnesota State Patrol aircrafts who flew to the scene and amazingly, they were also also hit by a bright laser. The investigation was successful and landed Link in a courtroom where he was sentenced to two years.

According to CBS News, Link pleaded guilty, and has a history of flashing laser lights into police officer's eyes.

Astonishingly, in 2021, pilots reported 9,723 laser strikes...a whopping 41% increase from 2020! The city of Seattle, Washington, who have had multiple reports of laser illumination events, is offering a $10,000 reward for anyone who gives information leading to the location and arrest of a laser perp.

Punishment for laser strikes includes hefty fines and prison time. You're going to have a very bad day if you're caught endangering the navigation of an aircraft and putting crew members and passengers lives in danger. Save that laser pointer for your housecat and keep them out of the sky and out of concerts and movies.

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