The FAA is hoping to avoid millions of laser strikes this holiday season with a warning about seasonal laser projectors. “The FAA’s concern is that lasers — regardless of the source — not be aimed at aircraft where the beams can threaten the safety of a flight,” the agency’s Eastern Region offices said in a statement. “Consumers who buy laser light displays should take precautions to make sure that the lights are hitting their houses and not shining off into the sky.”
The projectors, which have exploded in popularity this year, use an array of low-powered multi-colored lasers to project a pattern of bright spots on the outside of buildings and trees. The devices are inexpensive and easy to set up so they’re showing up in neighborhoods and commercial areas all over the country. Even though they’re too weak to trigger any sort of regulation, they are nonetheless bright enough to distract pilots, the FAA says.
