Reported laser strikes of aircraft totaled 9,723 last year, a nearly 42 percent increase from the 6,852 incidents in 2020, according to FAA data. Despite the levying of fines of up to $30,000 per incident and jail time of more than four years, a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said the FAA can do more to address the problem.
Identifying perpetrators remains difficult. "To support incident investigations, FAA asks pilots to complete a lengthy, voluntary questionnaire," the GAO said. "But it only received responses for 12 percent of 8,221 laser incidents that occurred from 2020 to 2021." Reasons identified by the FAA and others for the low response rate include the questionnaire length and its voluntary nature.
In 2016, Congress required the agency to report quarterly on laser incidents, including data on civil and criminal actions. However, the GAO found the FAA's reports to be incomplete. "For example, our analysis shows 44 prosecutions from July 2016 through September 2020, when the FAA reported only four.”
Further, the GAO said the FAA does not consistently share collected information with law enforcement. The agency and law enforcement previously had an interagency working group to address laser safety, but the group disbanded in 2015. "We recommend that the FAA improve its efforts to collect and share information with law enforcement and reestablish the working group."