Air ambulance chief exec condemns laser pranksters
Wales Air Ambulance has condemned pranksters who shone a laser into the cockpit of its helicopter, temporarily blinding the onboard doctor.
The head of the Wales Air Ambulance has condemned pranksters who shone a laser into the cockpit of its helicopter as it flew on an emergency mission, temporarily blinding the onboard doctor.
The aircraft was attending an emergency call on the evening of 5 November (Bonfire Night) when it was targeted several times over Swansea, UK, by what the service said appeared to have been a commercial-strength laser beam. The aircraft’s flying doctor was temporarily blinded in the incident, and required several days to recover.
Video footage captured the moment the green laser beam illuminated the inside of the cockpit, which the charity said it has passed on to South Wales Police.
Wales Air Ambulance chief executive Angela Hughes said: “Our aircraft was flying a rescue mission and the doctor onboard was temporarily blinded. This could have been catastrophic. People get laser burns to their eyes and are blinded for life. It is beyond belief how anyone thinks it is clever to do this.” She added that the pilot managed to avert his eyes in time and could carry on flying the aircraft.
The incident happened after dark on Bonfire Night, as the air ambulance was returning to its base in Dafen, Llanelli, following a call-out in Cardiff. Hughes said: “The aircraft was flying at 2,500 ft over Swansea Bay. The fact a laser reached it at that height shows the beam was much stronger than any produced by a standard pen laser. Someone set out deliberately to try to disable our aircraft. We have passed the video footage to South Wales Police and I appeal to anyone who knows who did this to contact the police.”