Flying blind

The no-cause-for-alarm gang at the FBI have finally made an arrest in the Teterboro, NJ, laser-in-the-cockpit incident. According to the Associated Press:

Federal authorities Tuesday used the Patriot Act to charge a man with pointing a laser beam at an airplane overhead and temporarily blinding the pilot and co-pilot.

The FBI acknowledged the incident had no connection to terrorism but called David Banach's actions "foolhardy and negligent."

Banach, 38, of 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.

He is the first person arrested after a recent rash of reports around the nation of laser beams hitting airplanes.

Banach was charged only in connection with the jet. He was accused of interfering with the operator of a mass transportation vehicle and making false statements to the FBI, and was released on $100,000 bail. He could get up to 25 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000.

But here's something frightening that didn't come out in earlier reports:

The jet, a chartered Cessna Citation, was coming in for a landing last Wednesday with six people aboard when a green light beam struck the windshield three times at about 3,000 feet, according to court documents. The flash temporarily blinded both the pilot and co-pilot, but they were later able to land the plane safely, authorities said.

Understandably, the Feds aren't too happy with Mr. Banach:

"Not only was the safety of the pilot and passengers placed in jeopardy by Banach's actions, so were countless innocent civilians on the ground in this densely populated area," said Joseph Billy, agent in charge of the FBI's Newark bureau.

What has them really upset is that the guy allegedly lied to them, repeatedly, in the course of the investigation. According to this Reuters story:

Confronted by the agents, Banach initially said his daughter had shone the laser beam on the helicopter and agreed to submit to a polygraph test.

After the test and more questioning, Banach admitted he had lied to law enforcement and had shined the laser on both the helicopter and the private aircraft, the FBI said.

No plea was required during Tuesday's initial court appearance and Banach was released on a $100,000 unsecured bond. The preliminary hearing on the case was set for Jan. 11. 

No mention on how Mr. Banach managed to keep the laser trained on the cockpit of the Cessna long enough to blind both pilot and co-pilot, by most accounts a very difficult feat.

(Tip of the hat to fellow ex-advance man Rand Holman, whose The Daily Polemic has been all over this story. As Rand correctly asks, "Why invoke the Patriot Act if it isn't terror related?")

UPDATE: I come up with a headline like "Flying Blind." The New York Post writes "Plane Stupid." It's the difference between prose and poetry. (Thanks, Michelle, for spotting this.)