Five charged after laser pen shone at plane in Scotland

Five people, including four women, have been charged after a laser pen was shone at an aircraft in Edinburgh on Friday, police said today.

Officers on patrol in the Drylaw area observed a green light coming from Marine Drive just before midnight.

Edinburgh Airport later confirmed that a pilot had reported a laser pen incident during the plane's descent.

A 16-year-old boy and four females, aged 16, 17, 19 and 22, who were in two vehicles in Marine Drive, were arrested.

They will all appear in court at a later date, the BBC reported.

Chief Inspector Mark Rennie, of Police Scotland, said: "The use of laser pens to distract or obscure the vision of a pilot is an extremely serious offence, which can have very serious consequences.
 

"We regularly patrol roads below approach routes to deter offenders and respond quickly to any notifications from pilots.

"Anyone found committing this offence will be arrested and charged'.

Lasers cause a dazzling light in the cockpit and their high-powered beams can cause serious eye damage.

There are strict legal limits on laser sales in the UK and for general use they must be 1 milliwatt or less.

CAA figures show there were 1,439 laser attacks on aircraft in the UK last year - equivalent to almost four a day.

Heathrow airport was the most common location with 121 incidents, followed by Birmingham airport (94) and Manchester airport (93), The Independent reported last month.

September was the worst month for attacks with 91, narrowly ahead of August when there were 88 incidents, it said.