“It just wasn’t one quick strike,” Irving said. “They kept shining it at them.”
Each teen flashed the light at the helicopter, taking turns, he said.
As the pilot and flight officer followed the beam, they sent patrol cars to the origin of the laser, Irving said.
Police found the teens, whose ages were 13, 14, 15 and 16, and arrested them in connection with shining a laser at the helicopter, which is a felony, he said.
The teens, whose names were not released because they are minors, were cited and sent home with their parents, Irving said.
The pilot and officer were not injured by the light, which sometimes causes damage to a person’s corneas.
Shining a light at an aircraft is illegal in California, he said.
The incidents are not common in Burbank, but they do occur, Irving said.
About four months ago, a man was arrested in Burbank on suspicion of shining a light at an aircraft, he said.
People who are convicted of pointing a laser at an aircraft can be sentenced to up to three years in prison and fined $2,000, said Ian Gregor, the Federal Aviation Administration’s Western-Pacific Region spokesman.
Laser beams can easily distract a pilot from flying during critical moments such as landing and taking off, Gregor said.
“It is an incredibly irresponsible and dangerous thing to do,” he said.
The number of laser-pointing incidents is increasing annually, Gregor said.
The Federal Aviation Administration asks pilots to report laser-pointing incidents, and more than 2,000 incidents have occurred since 2004, Gregor said.
More than 750 incidents were reported this year since mid-November, he said.
The high number of aircraft laser-pointing incidents can be attributed to the availability of hand-held lasers, since the lasers can be bought at any store by anyone, Gregor said.
VERONICA ROCHA covers public safety and the courts. She may be reached at (818) 637-3232 or by e-mail at veronica.rocha@latimes.com.
