Half of all pilots targeted in past year but latest incident involved laser used in weaponry, says pilots’ association
A British Airways pilot has reportedly been left with significant damage to his eyesight after a “military-strength” laser was shone into the cockpit of his plane landing at Heathrow, in what appears to be the most serious laser attack to date in the UK.
The pilot suffered a burned retina in his right eye and has not worked since, according to the head of the British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa).
The incident has escalated concerns over the problem of laser attacks. Balpa claims that one in two pilots has been in a plane targeted with lasers in the last 12 months.
The unnamed BA pilot was in the co-pilot’s seat as the plane was landing at the London airport in the spring, and was later treated for eye injuries at a hospital in Sheffield, Balpa’s general secretary, Jim McAuslan, said.
British Airways said it was investigating the claims: “The safety of our crew and our customers is always our main concern. We urge our pilots to report such incidents so we can make the authorities aware.”
McAuslan said the incident showed the dangers that pilots now faced from lasers, which have become easy to buy on the internet. He said that one tenement block in Glasgow was now known as “laser block” to pilots and police from the number of planes targeted from there while landing at the city’s airport.
Less severe incidents have often been ascribed to children or youthful delinquency. McAuslan said the “kids’ ones” were not powerful enough to cause physical harm, but he said lasers used in weaponry had now become available on the black market.
He said: “We’re very concerned about it. When something as strong as this comes on the scene it starts to worry us.”
According to figures compiled by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the number of reports of laser incidents in the UK has remained relatively constant at about four to five a day on average over the last four years.
But McAuslan said that in a poll conducted for Balpa, half of all the pilots in his union had reported a laser attack in the last 12 months, and warned that even weaker lasers could have serious consequences if pilots were distracted by the beams when landing planes: “It’s a critical point in flight, you have to have complete concentration. When it comes into the flight deck, it bounces around the walls of the cockpit.”
A spokesperson for Balpa added: “Lasers are one of the growing threats to flight safety faced by pilots along with fatigue, weakening regulation and security.
“We are also aware of concern around the ease of access to lasers, the increasing power of the technology and the potential they have to cause injury.”
More than 400 incidents were reported in the UK in the first six months of this year, according to the CAA, with the highest number of incidents around Heathrow – although in proportion to air traffic, regional airports including Birmingham, Leeds Bradford, Newcastle and East Midlands have a far higher frequency.
In the US, the Federal Aviation Administration said the number of incidents had grown steadily since it started collating information on laser attacks in 2005. More than 3,700 incidents have been reported in the US this year.
The FBI has released public information films to warn about the effects of laser pointers, explaining how beams can blind pilots at night, with their effects intensified as light is dispersed by the cockpit windows. A Californian man was sentenced to 14 years in prison in March this year for pointing a laser at a police helicopter.
The Guardian
Alex Cruz becomes new CEO for British Airways
Keith Williams is to step down as the head of British Airways, it was announced on Friday, as parent group IAG raised its long-term profit targets.
Mr Williams, chief executive and chairman, will retire next April. He is to be replaced by Alex Cruz, chairman and chief executive of Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling, which is also part of IAG.
Shares in IAG closed up 3.7 per cent at 602p as investors responded positively to upgraded financial goals for the next five years.
The group, which was created out of the 2011 merger of BA and Iberia, raised its outlook on earnings growth to more than 12 per cent, from above 10 per cent previously, for the 2016 to 2020 period.
It is now targeting an operating profit margin of 12-15 per cent, up from 10-14 per cent, and a return on invested capital of 15 per cent, up from more than 12 per cent.
“We’re increasing all our targets. These are ambitious targets. We know we can deliver on them,” Willie Walsh, IAG chief executive, told investors at its capital markets day yesterday.
The new investment aims come a week after IAG reported a 38 per cent rise in third-quarter operating profit to €1.3bn, and announced plans to make the first dividend payment in its four-year history — in a sign that the group’s restructuring since 2011 was delivering sustained profit.
Enrique Dupuy, chief financial officer, said synergies across the group should reach €800m, double the target laid out by BA and Iberia in 2010.
The improved outlook provides another boost to the airline group, which has fared better than its main European rivals — Lufthansa and Air France-KLM — who have been hit by strikes over plans to cut costs, and increasing competition from aggressive Middle Eastern and budget rivals.
IAG said its updated financial targets did not include the outlook for Aer Lingus, the latest airline to join its stable. It said it planned to update the market at its full-year results in February.
Mr Walsh paid tribute to Mr Williams, telling investors he was a “legend”. Mr Williams, who was instrumental in the creation of IAG as chief financial officer of BA, has been at the airline for 18 years.
Mr Cruz founded Spanish airline Clickair in 2006, which merged with Vueling in 2009, when he became chief executive. Vueling was acquired by IAG in 2013 and the fast-growing carrier has become one of the biggest contributors to IAG’s profits.
“Keith is not only British Airways’ executive chairman, he was fundamental to the creation of IAG. IAG is as much his legacy as is his leadership of BA,” said Mr Walsh.
Financial Times
British Airways (Operated by Comair) makes emergency landing at JNB
Emergency crews were called to help a British Airways flight after its landing gear collapsed soon after touching down in Johannesburg.
The 94 passengers and six crew on board flight BA6234 disembarked safely.
The Boeing 737-400 plane – owned and operated by South African franchise Comair – had flown to OR Tambo International Airport from Port Elizabeth on Monday.
South African authorities are investigating what caused the incident.
Emergency services helped passengers and crew safely off the plane. No injuries have been reported.
Passengers ‘smelled burning’
Comair said in a statement that the plane experienced a landing gear problem shortly after touching down, at around midday local time (10:00 GMT).
“The aircraft was on the runway for a short period performing standard landing procedures when the crew noticed an unusual vibration which was followed shortly by the collapse of the left landing gear,” the company said.
Passenger Warren Mann said: “When it came into land, it felt like the touchdown was a bit harder than normal – then it felt like a piece of something had fallen off.
“Oxygen masks came down and the plane was at an angle as we touched down.
“We could smell something burn and fire crews were soon at the plane to deal with the engine.
“Only afterwards did we find that the left landing gear had broken off.”
Airports Company South Africa, which owns the airport, said the runway was temporarily closed, causing some delays.
Comair operates regional and local flights in South Africa. It uses British Airways-branded planes but its pilots and cabin crew are not from British Airways.
BBC News