Laser Culprit Caught
Posted 1-8-2005 at 06:26 PM
A man charged with temporarily blinding the pilot and co-pilot of an airplane with a laser beam claims he was simply using the device to look at stars with his 7-year-old daughter.
Federal authorities on Tuesday used the Patriot Act to charge David Banach, 38, with interfering with the operator of a mass transportation vehicle and making false statements to the FBI (news - web sites). He is the first person arrested after a recent rash of reports around the nation of lasers being beamed at airplanes.
If convicted, Banach could be sentenced to 25 years in prison and fined $500,000.
The FBI acknowledged the incident had no connection to terrorism but called Banach's actions "foolhardy and negligent."
Banach, of suburban Parsippany, admitted to federal agents that he pointed the light beam at a jet and a helicopter over his home near Teterboro Airport last week, authorities said. Initially, he claimed his daughter aimed the device at the helicopter, they said.
Banach's lawyer said his statements were given during several hours of questioning without an attorney present and that he was being harshly prosecuted because authorities were eager for an arrest.
"My client is in some ways a sacrificial lamb," attorney Gina Mendola-Longarzo said. "A message is being sent."
The jet, a chartered Cessna Citation, was landing Dec. 29 with six people aboard when a green light beam struck the windshield three times at about 3,000 feet, according to court documents. The pilot and co-pilot were temporarily blinded but were able to land the plane safely.
Full Story @
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050105/ap_on_re_us/laser_beam_aircraft_14
Souce: Yahoo.com
A man charged with temporarily blinding the pilot and co-pilot of an airplane with a laser beam claims he was simply using the device to look at stars with his 7-year-old daughter.
Federal authorities on Tuesday used the Patriot Act to charge David Banach, 38, with interfering with the operator of a mass transportation vehicle and making false statements to the FBI (news - web sites). He is the first person arrested after a recent rash of reports around the nation of lasers being beamed at airplanes.
If convicted, Banach could be sentenced to 25 years in prison and fined $500,000.
The FBI acknowledged the incident had no connection to terrorism but called Banach's actions "foolhardy and negligent."
Banach, of suburban Parsippany, admitted to federal agents that he pointed the light beam at a jet and a helicopter over his home near Teterboro Airport last week, authorities said. Initially, he claimed his daughter aimed the device at the helicopter, they said.
Banach's lawyer said his statements were given during several hours of questioning without an attorney present and that he was being harshly prosecuted because authorities were eager for an arrest.
"My client is in some ways a sacrificial lamb," attorney Gina Mendola-Longarzo said. "A message is being sent."
The jet, a chartered Cessna Citation, was landing Dec. 29 with six people aboard when a green light beam struck the windshield three times at about 3,000 feet, according to court documents. The pilot and co-pilot were temporarily blinded but were able to land the plane safely.
Full Story @
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050105/ap_on_re_us/laser_beam_aircraft_14
