BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Recently a green laser targeted a FedEx airplane that was flying over Western New York, now Senator Charles Schumer is calling on the FDA to ban those lasers.
On November 11 around 10:45 p.m., the pilot of a FedEx plane noticed a beam of light from the ground directed at the plane. The FAA reports that a pilot flying a FedEx Boeing 757 says he noticed a green beam of light coming from a laser on the ground lighting up the aircraft. Police say the plane was 23,000 feet in the air.
Because of this incident, Senator Schumer is now asking the FDA to ban the sale of high-powered, long-range green laser pointers to the public. He believes they should be restricted to those with a specific professional purpose.
Schumer added that those who were convicted of pointing a laser at a plane can be sentenced to 20 years in prision and a $250,000 fine.
Senator Schumer said that recently there have been several incidents of green laser pointer attacks on aircraft. The FDA recorded more than 5,300 laser strikes from January 2015 to October 16.
On the night of Nov. 11 more than 20 laser strikes on aircraft across the county were reported, including the one in Jamestown.
Below is the full copy of Senator Schumer's letter to the FDA:
Dear FDA Commissioner, Dr. Stephen Ostroff,I write today to urge the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expeditiously revise its regulations to limit the public availability of high-powered, long-range green laser pointers. There has been a tremendous increase in the incidence of these lasers being pointed at planes and locomotives, which threatens of everyone aboard, as well as the safety of the public.
In our previous correspondence, you have acknowledged that the FDA is delegated authority pursuant to 21 U.S.C. §360kk to regulate electronic products as "necessary for the protection of the public health and safety." And, indeed, the FDA has extensive standards for laser products, including a detailed classification system for lasers, which is outlined in 21 C.F.R. §§1040.10(b)(5)-(11). This classification system evaluates lasers based on their radiation emission levels, recognizing, as you put it, four different hazard classes for lasers. The green lasers about which I am writing today are generally recognized in Class IIIa; FDA currently requires merely a warning label.
Unfortunately, warning labels alone do not suffice when Class IIIa green lasers are available for anyone to purchase. Green lasers are commonly known to interfere with vision and can severely damage eyesight or blindness when shined into a person's eye. For pilots, lasers can cause flash blindness, a temporary or permanent loss of vision when the light-sensitive parts of the eye are exposed to an intensity of light they are not physically meant to handle. There have been over 2,000 reports of lasers pointed at planes and/or at pilots across the country in the past year, and in New York alone there have been hundreds of reports across the state. Numbers like these suggest a widespread misuse of a product that should only be available to qualified professionals. These risks and abuses were not prevalent or known at the time the FDA initially undertook its laser classification and regulation. Federal law allows for the regulations to be updated "whenever" the Secretary "determines that [new] standards are necessary for the protection of the public health and safety." 21 U.S.C. §360kk(a)(1). Neither the emissions standards nor the associated regulations for each classification level are prescribed by statute, and both can be reevaluated.
Accordingly, I believe it is time for the FDA to undertake a review of its current classification and regulation standards and determine whether green lasers should, as I believe, receive a higher classification. As you note, there are certain types of lasers for which manufacturers must obtain FDA permission before they can be sold in the United States. Green lasers should be in that group.
I implore the FDA to use its authority over laser products to establish new regulations that would prevent individuals from obtaining green lasers for non-professional use. Pilots and travelers alike stand to benefit from tighter regulation on the sale of high-powered, long-range lasers.
I applaud the FDA's continuing efforts to ensure the safety of pilots and travelers across the country and look forward to working with you to establish new regulations that enhance these efforts. Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator
