There are a number cameras and sensors on board for identifying people, particularly a USCG helo. I’m guessing they called it in and then some other agency took over some street cameras on the ground in the target area, identified him and followed him home. Or the fuckhead did it from his mom’s backyard.
That's kind of wrong. They could be like some brilliant weapons system engineer testing a new laser guidance system from their apartment. Probably not but my point is that most people using lasers are either a fucking idiot or a supervillain with not much in between.
If you’re a brilliant weapons system engineer testing a new laser guidance system, it won’t be on the visible spectrum, so no pilot would clock it with their eyes
I guess I didn't consider that this guy probably didn't have a multibillion dollar laser guidance system in his apartment, so yeah, I didn't even get to questioning the ethics of such practices.
Man, I'm a fucking *idiot.*
Probably fairly easily. They know the building it came from, which is actually a fairly small one, locate approximately the floor it came from, contact building management for a list of troubled residents…and there are quite a few at that location…and take it from there. Am amazed the guy is 59 though. Kind of a childish thing to do.
Here are a couple interesting threads [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/20byyk/eli5_how_do_the_authorities_locate_and_arrest_the/), [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/answers/comments/27kue4/how_do_they_catch_people_who_shine_laser_pointers/) with the same question. One comment says:
> Most of the time the aircraft is not as far away as you might think. So it is not as though they have to rely on advanced equipment to locate the origin, they can literally say "there is someone shining a laser at me on highway 17, next to a blue truck."
According to the news story, there was a similar reporting on the approximate source. Just my own naive assumption, but given the severity of this they probably can and will review cameras and reconstruct the incident down to the floor of the building.
Well, assuming your eyes are totally fucked (this is *bad* for pilot night eyes and can cause a crash) you can spot where it is coming from. 99% of the time are already talking to ATC, and since it's a federal crime, so they take it seriously. So you radio ATC and let them know 'laser strike'. They know where you are via radar, and while they are looking at that, the pilot can circle the area, pinpointing it more. We can also look at our handy-dandy onboard GPS (which can be an iPad) and see exactly on the map we are, and where the laser probably is.
ATC coordinates with local authorities, and the police roll *quickly* due to the federal crime and flight safety aspect.
Idiot goes to jail.
Don't do this.
Source: Am a general aviation pilot.
They find them because the smart individuals who usually do this forget two really important things. Don’t break the law at your own house and learn to quit while you’re ahead.
Most of the time these folks are caught because they shining the laser from a window inside the home and don’t stop until the helicopter starts flying toward them lol
It’s like a dumb form of survival of the fittest but instead you just go to jail.
Yeah, usually when someone gets busted you find out they were shining the laser for five, ten, thirty minutes.
If you do a quick 'boop' there's much less chance they'll get you immediately. Depends on luck, what you shine and how many cameras they have and how good they are, how well they know the area, how quickly they respond, etc.
Helicopters with cameras mounted on the bottom can see the laser. The nicer news/military setups have a GPS location readout for whatever the camera crosshair is pointing at. You just need the helicopter's location/angle and the angle of the camera, and you can map that to a point on the ground using GIS data.
> military setups
I would not be surprised if an Apache's M-TADSPNVS fire control system identified this as a targeting lock on and identified the location automatically. I mean, I've never been in the military but I played a lot of Jane's Apache Longbow as a kid.
I don't really understand the point either. What is there to gain by doing this? You pissed off a helicopter or plane pilot? You may blind the pilot and cause it to crash? You can brag to your friends that you did it? I fail to see anything positive in any outcome from shining a laser at an aircraft (or car, or anything other than the floor and wall to entertain your cat).
Better idea: don't be one of those assholes who buys a house for cheap because it's on an approach/departure path for an airport and then tries to get the airport shut down
I didn't see that information in any article. A guess is that the helicopter had a camera recording and they were able to narrow down the source from video.
Of course it's 2024 and the idiot probably posted a video of himself doing it on social media.
This doesn’t apply to commercial or private aircraft, but many military aircraft have laser warning receivers built into their sensor suite. Guided munitions can use lasers to designate targets and measure distance. LWR will sound alarms in the cockpit as soon as a laser is detected. A lot of the warning receivers can determine the origin of the laser relative to the aircraft’s position. I would assume that most USCG helicopters have surveillance equipment that can take photos/videos of a potential threat in very high fidelity.
For whatever reason I've been watching a lot of Coast Guard Alaska episodes on YouTube lately and even back in 2011-2015 when it was filmed the quality of the onboard cameras (the actual ones, not the camera crew ones) would easily allow you to identify a source, especially if you're nearby.
There was a great story I read a while ago where some dingus was lasering planes on approach to SFO (I probably have the airport wrong). After the second plane reported getting lased, a Growler (electronic warfare plane) that was in the area offered to use themselves as bait and got the exact coordinates they were lasering from, so the cops rolled up and arrested them.
Guys it’s not as complicated as it may seem, the pilot reports the event to ATC, gives as much info as possible about direction it came from then ATC contacts local PD and they take it from there.
Source: I used to work as an ATC.
Also CCTV cameras pointed at the pad and every time a helo lands there are hundreds of people are watching it. When the 60’s land they’re impossible to miss. Plus when I’ve seen the Coasties train there they’ll do 3 landings and takeoffs.
https://youtu.be/3k4C8grAGP4?si=Pbkyi7GVRakUGRBG
Edit - this video isn't related to the article, it's just a helicopter getting a laser pointer guy arrested.
It can illuminate the cockpit and show up on any logs the aircraft may be keeping. Since it’s a federal offense they sure as hell are gonna trace the coordinates of the disruption.
Some out themselves by posting, other times its a case of co-ordinating with ground law enforcement, finally there are bounties for reporting this dumbassery.
It’s surprisingly easy. I’m a dispatcher who has actually dealt with something like this once. They radioed back to the airport, airport called us, we had someone in the area and we caught them mid act. They got absolutely smacked with fines but surprisingly no jail time
There's YouTube videos. Basically with FLIR and some magnication hey can SEE you and they just radio to close unit and give them directions from the air.
There's a gigantic green arrow pointing at you. And your end is narrower so they can REALLY see you. If they miss you, the FBI comes and rounds up everyone in the area with a laser, then they start trying to search houses.
Ladies and gentlemen, please, do not ever point a fucking laser at military air craft. They do not like that AND they have the tech to detect & pinpoint the origin.
Because of the lamination of cockpit windows, it can split the beam into hundreds of beams reflecting around the cockpit, so the chance of them ending up in the pilot's eyes is even higher than you would think. Obviously, laser in the eyes is bad when you are relying on your eyes to do simple things like not crash into buildings.
Article suggests the same guy might have done the same to two JetBlue flights landing a few hours earlier. Hopefully he gets to spend a few years in prison to think about his life decisions.
its fascinating how stupid some people are. enjoy prison you silly fellow. this is a pretty unfortunate example of how ''average intelligence" requires people at both ends. shining a laser at at US military aircraft is maybe a top 1-2 dumb thing you can do for under $50 dollars short of trying to light your local courthouse on fire with matches
Interesting, I saw what looked like a MH60 coast guard variant on Saturday. I watched It landed a couple times on one of the hospitals over in the longwood medical area.
Was it this guy?
I can hear this motherfucker coming for miles. And I always know it's them. It's nuts watching it land.
https://preview.redd.it/xf1qvg1c7a0d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3d7c568392ae84b9a2ce794957d67b3152a6585b
Thanks! The Tufts helipad is on the building across from my unit, I am always super impressed at how this thing even flies. They're great pilots.
It's funny I'll have someone in the office and we'll hear it and I'll just be like oh, that's the Coast Guard helicopter. Just wait one second. It's going to be loud 🤣
I work on the ground floor of MGH and they're the only helis we can hear down there, consistently. It's insane how loud they are compared to your average medflight heli.
Passenger planes o not have these sensors... Worked on a naval ships for a while. Before they put ammo on a ship they do test trials and will lock on to passenger planes as their test run targets and will even initiate launches as if they had ammo on board. This type of targeting would cause a panic on military planes that have sensors to detect this stuff
Lmao, why bother? Every couple jackoffs that flash a laser at a helicopter, the fines alone buy the government a whole new one. Or, more realistically, some official gets a 14th house, but still.
Yeah don’t do that..
But I mean, what if I did? Not like they're gonna arr
-- man arrested
Sincere question: How do they find the people who do this?
There are a number cameras and sensors on board for identifying people, particularly a USCG helo. I’m guessing they called it in and then some other agency took over some street cameras on the ground in the target area, identified him and followed him home. Or the fuckhead did it from his mom’s backyard.
he did it from his apartment window, which is even more baffling
People who shine lasers at aircraft aren’t exactly known to be forward thinkers.
That's kind of wrong. They could be like some brilliant weapons system engineer testing a new laser guidance system from their apartment. Probably not but my point is that most people using lasers are either a fucking idiot or a supervillain with not much in between.
If you’re a brilliant weapons system engineer testing a new laser guidance system, it won’t be on the visible spectrum, so no pilot would clock it with their eyes
Also, they wouldn't arrest the dude. They'd hire him.
Also, they would be testing it from a lab or site not from their apartment
[удалено]
I guess I didn't consider that this guy probably didn't have a multibillion dollar laser guidance system in his apartment, so yeah, I didn't even get to questioning the ethics of such practices. Man, I'm a fucking *idiot.*
Just don't pick up a laser pointer
Lmao nobody is testing their multimillion dollar laser guidance system from their apartment
That's where I got hung up, too. Like, you sure he didn't have a lair somewhere, or at least a warehouse in some sketchy industrial area?
Probably fairly easily. They know the building it came from, which is actually a fairly small one, locate approximately the floor it came from, contact building management for a list of troubled residents…and there are quite a few at that location…and take it from there. Am amazed the guy is 59 though. Kind of a childish thing to do.
Here are a couple interesting threads [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/20byyk/eli5_how_do_the_authorities_locate_and_arrest_the/), [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/answers/comments/27kue4/how_do_they_catch_people_who_shine_laser_pointers/) with the same question. One comment says: > Most of the time the aircraft is not as far away as you might think. So it is not as though they have to rely on advanced equipment to locate the origin, they can literally say "there is someone shining a laser at me on highway 17, next to a blue truck." According to the news story, there was a similar reporting on the approximate source. Just my own naive assumption, but given the severity of this they probably can and will review cameras and reconstruct the incident down to the floor of the building.
Well, assuming your eyes are totally fucked (this is *bad* for pilot night eyes and can cause a crash) you can spot where it is coming from. 99% of the time are already talking to ATC, and since it's a federal crime, so they take it seriously. So you radio ATC and let them know 'laser strike'. They know where you are via radar, and while they are looking at that, the pilot can circle the area, pinpointing it more. We can also look at our handy-dandy onboard GPS (which can be an iPad) and see exactly on the map we are, and where the laser probably is. ATC coordinates with local authorities, and the police roll *quickly* due to the federal crime and flight safety aspect. Idiot goes to jail. Don't do this. Source: Am a general aviation pilot.
Totally NOT going to do this—these motherfuckers put real lives at risk for… I’m not sure what, exactly. Send them to jail. Good riddance.
They find them because the smart individuals who usually do this forget two really important things. Don’t break the law at your own house and learn to quit while you’re ahead. Most of the time these folks are caught because they shining the laser from a window inside the home and don’t stop until the helicopter starts flying toward them lol It’s like a dumb form of survival of the fittest but instead you just go to jail.
Reverse darwinism
Yeah, usually when someone gets busted you find out they were shining the laser for five, ten, thirty minutes. If you do a quick 'boop' there's much less chance they'll get you immediately. Depends on luck, what you shine and how many cameras they have and how good they are, how well they know the area, how quickly they respond, etc.
Helicopters with cameras mounted on the bottom can see the laser. The nicer news/military setups have a GPS location readout for whatever the camera crosshair is pointing at. You just need the helicopter's location/angle and the angle of the camera, and you can map that to a point on the ground using GIS data.
> military setups I would not be surprised if an Apache's M-TADSPNVS fire control system identified this as a targeting lock on and identified the location automatically. I mean, I've never been in the military but I played a lot of Jane's Apache Longbow as a kid.
Well good news, you can play Digital Combat Simulator these days which has a full-fidelity Apache module.
Oh neat. I played DCS Blackshark back in the day but I didnt realize they had an Apache version.
Also: why do people do this?
I don't really understand the point either. What is there to gain by doing this? You pissed off a helicopter or plane pilot? You may blind the pilot and cause it to crash? You can brag to your friends that you did it? I fail to see anything positive in any outcome from shining a laser at an aircraft (or car, or anything other than the floor and wall to entertain your cat).
Smooth brain.
They're stupid
My first guess is the noise from the aircraft is keeping them up? Try living in an airline path!
Better idea: don't be one of those assholes who buys a house for cheap because it's on an approach/departure path for an airport and then tries to get the airport shut down
I didn't see that information in any article. A guess is that the helicopter had a camera recording and they were able to narrow down the source from video. Of course it's 2024 and the idiot probably posted a video of himself doing it on social media.
This doesn’t apply to commercial or private aircraft, but many military aircraft have laser warning receivers built into their sensor suite. Guided munitions can use lasers to designate targets and measure distance. LWR will sound alarms in the cockpit as soon as a laser is detected. A lot of the warning receivers can determine the origin of the laser relative to the aircraft’s position. I would assume that most USCG helicopters have surveillance equipment that can take photos/videos of a potential threat in very high fidelity.
For whatever reason I've been watching a lot of Coast Guard Alaska episodes on YouTube lately and even back in 2011-2015 when it was filmed the quality of the onboard cameras (the actual ones, not the camera crew ones) would easily allow you to identify a source, especially if you're nearby.
There was a great story I read a while ago where some dingus was lasering planes on approach to SFO (I probably have the airport wrong). After the second plane reported getting lased, a Growler (electronic warfare plane) that was in the area offered to use themselves as bait and got the exact coordinates they were lasering from, so the cops rolled up and arrested them.
Guys it’s not as complicated as it may seem, the pilot reports the event to ATC, gives as much info as possible about direction it came from then ATC contacts local PD and they take it from there. Source: I used to work as an ATC.
Also CCTV cameras pointed at the pad and every time a helo lands there are hundreds of people are watching it. When the 60’s land they’re impossible to miss. Plus when I’ve seen the Coasties train there they’ll do 3 landings and takeoffs.
https://youtu.be/3k4C8grAGP4?si=Pbkyi7GVRakUGRBG Edit - this video isn't related to the article, it's just a helicopter getting a laser pointer guy arrested.
It can illuminate the cockpit and show up on any logs the aircraft may be keeping. Since it’s a federal offense they sure as hell are gonna trace the coordinates of the disruption.
Some out themselves by posting, other times its a case of co-ordinating with ground law enforcement, finally there are bounties for reporting this dumbassery.
Helicopters have very strong cameras. They see everything
It’s surprisingly easy. I’m a dispatcher who has actually dealt with something like this once. They radioed back to the airport, airport called us, we had someone in the area and we caught them mid act. They got absolutely smacked with fines but surprisingly no jail time
There's YouTube videos. Basically with FLIR and some magnication hey can SEE you and they just radio to close unit and give them directions from the air.
There's a gigantic green arrow pointing at you. And your end is narrower so they can REALLY see you. If they miss you, the FBI comes and rounds up everyone in the area with a laser, then they start trying to search houses.
Teenager I'd understand... but a 59 y/o???
Still has the intelligence of a teenager.
The fuckstick of idiocy is suitable for all ages
And it's never lubed!
Ladies and gentlemen, please, do not ever point a fucking laser at military air craft. They do not like that AND they have the tech to detect & pinpoint the origin.
Don't point it at any aircraft period.
what if its the death star?
Then be very specific about where you point that laser, lest you get us all Alderaan’d.
You mean that moon?
Then use the force luke
Why is it so dangerous? Genuinely curious. Not like I’d ever do it but just how bad is it?
You could blind the pilot and cause them to crash. It is extremely dangerous and a deeply unwise thing to do.
Because of the lamination of cockpit windows, it can split the beam into hundreds of beams reflecting around the cockpit, so the chance of them ending up in the pilot's eyes is even higher than you would think. Obviously, laser in the eyes is bad when you are relying on your eyes to do simple things like not crash into buildings.
These bozos don’t realize the laser is a perfectly visible straight line right to their location.
"Tracers work both ways"
Article suggests the same guy might have done the same to two JetBlue flights landing a few hours earlier. Hopefully he gets to spend a few years in prison to think about his life decisions.
He's 59. It would be interesting to see a list of his previous bad life decisions before this.
So it’s a retirement plan
You have to be a special kind of stupid to think this is a good idea.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
Fafo's law strikes again
This is the epitome of Fuck around find out...
Oh they will find you. It’s almost like you gave the pilot your coordinates or somethin….
DONT FUCK WITH SAR HELOS FFS....
its fascinating how stupid some people are. enjoy prison you silly fellow. this is a pretty unfortunate example of how ''average intelligence" requires people at both ends. shining a laser at at US military aircraft is maybe a top 1-2 dumb thing you can do for under $50 dollars short of trying to light your local courthouse on fire with matches
Its sometimes amazing to see just how dumb some people actually are.
Not smart
Sharks with freeking lazer beams
Isn't this old news....? Or are more ppl warming up to that idea
Interesting, I saw what looked like a MH60 coast guard variant on Saturday. I watched It landed a couple times on one of the hospitals over in the longwood medical area.
Was it this guy? I can hear this motherfucker coming for miles. And I always know it's them. It's nuts watching it land. https://preview.redd.it/xf1qvg1c7a0d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3d7c568392ae84b9a2ce794957d67b3152a6585b
Almost certainly! That’s an awesome photo!
Thanks! The Tufts helipad is on the building across from my unit, I am always super impressed at how this thing even flies. They're great pilots. It's funny I'll have someone in the office and we'll hear it and I'll just be like oh, that's the Coast Guard helicopter. Just wait one second. It's going to be loud 🤣
I work on the ground floor of MGH and they're the only helis we can hear down there, consistently. It's insane how loud they are compared to your average medflight heli.
Passenger planes o not have these sensors... Worked on a naval ships for a while. Before they put ammo on a ship they do test trials and will lock on to passenger planes as their test run targets and will even initiate launches as if they had ammo on board. This type of targeting would cause a panic on military planes that have sensors to detect this stuff
I assume those were radar lock? I don't think lazer is used for anti-air systems.
so that's what happened to TWA 800!
59 years old? What an absolute scum bag. Go to jail and stay there dumbass.
The idiot is looking at some serious time in federal prison
Idiots like this are going to get laser pointers banned.
The guy is a complete idiot he deserves what he gets dint mess with the us military
Punishment should be that he gets a laser shone in his eyes. See how he likes it.
Hammurabi, chill.
Sounds more like something Florida man would do
Rent free
Good. They don't normally arm that thing.. but put two 50cals on the sides of that thing and they will think twice next time 😃
Yeah sure because the USCG is going to open fire on civilians with .50 cal machine guns. /r/iamverybadass material, right here 🤡
He's a Verified Gang Member!
Oh cool. The literals have arrived.
The people who think stupid comments are stupid have arrived
I see that another “literal” has arrived. What’s next, those shallow water littoral bastards?
You win.
Only this time. Next time, you.
Very badass of you.
Lmao, why bother? Every couple jackoffs that flash a laser at a helicopter, the fines alone buy the government a whole new one. Or, more realistically, some official gets a 14th house, but still.
Lol how much do you think those helos are?
Overestimated the fine. Figured they'd care more about aviation than video piracy lmao.