Wicked Pilot wrote:Broomstick wrote:Short of a Cat III, someone with vision has to be in the cockpit in order to manage the last 50 feet or so, right?
Well, I'm assuming that the blinding effect goes away when the laser is no longer on the airplane. If that's not the case, then they'd have to go missed ,informed ATC, enter a holding pattern, and sort stuff out there. Meanwhile the hunt is on on the ground.
The amount of damage is an important factor. In the 1997 incident the person in question suffered corneal burns which, although bad enough, aren't as bad as
retina burns. Corneal damage sure can mess up your vision, but there are options that can correct some, if not all, of the worst effects. Screw up the lens of the eye? Hey, replacing that is a routine part of cataract surgery. You may not qualify for a military grade pilot's license afterward but you'd have usable vision.
Retina burns are a different matter - a
minor burn will heal (this is the case with "snowblindness", which is essentially a sunburn of the retina) but once the nerves are truly scorched vision doesn't come back.
So, it comes down to how quickly and how thoroughly the hypothetical laser weapon can burn someone's eyeballs. Cleary, a burn of some sort
has happened to at least one person. A mild burn would be easier to do than a totally, instantly blinding burn. IF someone could come up with a means of instantly, totally, and completely blinding pilots I don't see how the pilots will be able to successfully execute a missed approach or circle in a controlled manner. I'm not very famillar with the instrumentation on board either airliners or military airplanes so I'll have to defer to
Wicked's superior knowledge in those areas - maybe there is a way to fly those things totally blind, or with severely impaired vision.
No, I don't think you're going to get a half-dozen terrorists driving a hummer onto a runway and deploying heavy equipment and targeting devices. But isn't the issue really one of how thoroughly can you disguise the operation? I tell you right now, every single one of you (including, perhaps,
Wicked as well) are thinking two-dimensionally in regards to this problem when you should be thinking in
three dimensions. I can think of a very simple manner in which to carry substantial equipment completely disguised, yet allowing a more than adequate amount of time in which to aim and fire such a weapon. It would also allow for a rapid escape as well. The vechicle that would allow you to do this would raise absolutely no suspicion at any airport in the world.
Come to think of it, if you cut power to the ILS you'll force the pilots to look outside the cockpit, making them more vulnerable to this sort of attack --
It's already complicated enough getting ahold of the laser. They'd be better off just shooting it with a missile like they do around Bagdad.
Except those missles haven't been too successful at downing large jets, have they? Causing major damage and emergency landings, yes, but minor injuries at most. Must be quite frustrating for the opposition to have successfully launched a missle, hit a jet, and yet no one dies. Heck, the airplane doesn't even crash! Most annoying - perhaps that is why they might be seeking alternative weaponry?
