Laser Strikes on Military Planes: A Growing Concern

0:00It's April 29th. This is Canada News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story. A 38-year-old man got arrested on Vancouver Island after hitting a military search and rescue plane with a laser multiple times during a nighttime training flight. The plane, a CC295 kingfisher, made it back to base safely, but the pilots got pulled from duty for medical checks as a safety measure. That crew was on search and rescue standby, so grounding them cut fixed-wing coverage for British Columbia and the Yukon on April 23rd. If a real emergency had popped up in Western Canada that day, the base in 19-wing Comox couldn't have jumped in right away. Officials are stressing, this ain't some harmless prank lasers can blind or distract pilots at key moments, risking everyone on board and folks below. There have been at least 10 similar strikes on aircraft near the Comox base over the past year alone. Police nabbed the guy without drama and let him go pending a court date while they wrap

1:01up evidence for charges. The kingfisher's Canada's newest search and rescue ride just going operational last year. Meanwhile, a separate laser hit on a Canadian forces helicopter over Alaska last year injured three crew members leading to a woman's three year. Probation sentence shows how these incidents keep stacking up with real consequences.