By Dan Gesslein
BRONX,
NEW YORK, MARCH 10-
All signs point to a true dim bulb.
Cops
arrested a Pelham Bay man they said had been targeting commercial planes with a
laser pointer affecting the pilots’ vision. He was charged with assaulting
police pilots.
Members
of the NYPD Aviation Unit canvassed Pelham Bay Monday night after receiving a
report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that someone was
targeting commercial airline pilots with a laser pointer. Investigators said
that three pilots on two separate occasions suffered eye injuries. Two of those
pilots were officers operating a police helicopter. The officers were treated
for their injuries at Mount Sinai Hospital. In another incident, a pilot from
an Air Canada commercial airliner suffered eye injuries.
On
March 9, a police helicopter spotted the beam from a laser pointer from inside
2801 Coddington Avenue, Apartment 3. Officers from the 45th Precinct
responded. While conducting an investigation police observed a black tubular
device labeled "Laser 303" on top of the refrigerator. While
interviewing Frank Egan, 36, the resident of the apartment admitted the laser
pointer was his and that he had used it that night.
Police
arrested Egan and charged him with the following: assault on a police officer
(2 counts), felony assault (3 counts), menacing a police officer (2 counts),
reckless endangerment (3 counts) and three counts of criminal possession of a
weapon.
#NYPD
#LaserPointer #Airplane #Bronxnews
