Lasers struck four aircraft flying over Phoenix late Tuesday, FAA officials said — the latest incidents in what police described as a “non-stop” battle in the area.
The aircraft were headed to the municipal Phoenix Deer Valley Airport — about 20 miles north of the main Sky Harbor Airport — when pilots encountered a green laser. No injuries were reported.
A police helicopter flew to the area where the laser strikes were reported but was unable to find the culprit.
Officer John Meche, a police pilot with the Phoenix Police Air Support, told NBC News that laser strikes were frequent in the area, saying: "It's non-stop here."
The incidents involved a Robinson R22 Helicopter traveling southbound at 2,500 feet some 10 miles northwest of Phoenix at 6:30 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m.ET), followed 10 minutes later by a Bombardier CRJ2 jet heading westbound at 4,000 feet,
A third event, involving a Cessna 172 heading southwest at 2,900 feet about 4 miles east northeast of Phoenix, was reported at 8:30 p.m. local time (10:30 p.m. ET). A fourth encounter was reported at 8:50 p.m. local time (10:50 p.m. ET) involving a Piper PA28 that was flying east northeast at 2,900 feet around 7 miles west southwest of the city.
“All aircraft were headed to the Phoenix Deer Valley Airport but were transitioning the Phoenix area airspace,” FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer told NBC News.
It follows an Oct. 27 incident in which a laser light was shone at an American Airlines captain as his jet was about to land in San Diego.
