The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been investigating a “dramatic increase” in dangerous laser strikes at several Washington state airports, authorities said.
Pilots landing at Seattle-Tacoma and Spokane International Airport have experienced a surge of allusive sci-fi green lasers shining into their cockpits in recent months, including the recent arrest of a man who allegedly attempted the strikes on three separate aircraft, Spokane County said in a press release Wednesday.
A 45-year-old man was arrested last Friday for carrying out three different laser attacks on different aircraft, including on a Regional Air Support Unit helicopter, near the Spokane airport, the county announced.
The helicopter noticed the green laser hitting its cockpit and allegedly discovered Rusty Flett hiding behind a power pole, officials said.
Flett could now face multiple Washington State felony charges of unlawful discharge of a laser in the first degree or similar federal felony charges for the alleged shenanigans, the county said.
No one was hurt in the incident, according to the release.
Officials warn that the lasers could interfere with a plane’s landing and pose a risk of injury to flight crew, passengers, and pilots.
There were 43 laser incidents in March alone in Washington, and 106 in the state in 2025 thus far, The Street reported.
In all of 2024, there were 383 incidents in Washington, the outlet said.
Investigators believe multiple people are responsible for the laser blasts, and do not see the instances at the two separate airports to be related, the county added.
The FBI is working with multiple state and local agencies to investigate the reports in the Seattle and Spokane areas, officials said.
Shining a laser pointer at an aircraft is a federal offense. If convicted, a person could be sentenced to five years in prison and face a $250,000 fine.
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