Teenage yobs arrested after shining bright green laser into cockpit of London-bound Ryanair plane carrying 113 passengers

  • Four youths have been questioned by police and could face charges
  • Pilot and co-pilot were targeted as plane took off from Bratislava Airport 
  • Lasers can cause temporary blindness and eye damage to pilots

By Chris Kitching for MailOnline

Published: 03:02 EST, 24 July 2015 | Updated: 10:06 EST, 24 July 2015

Four youths could face charges after shining a bright green laser into the cockpit of a London-bound Ryanair flight.

The pilot and co-pilot were targeted as the Boeing 737, carrying 113 passengers, took off from Bratislava Airport in Slovakia.

Police questioned the group after they were found sitting in a car below the aircraft’s flight path with a hand-held laser in their possession late Wednesday night.

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Police questioned four youths after a bright green laser was shined into the cockpit of a Ryanair plane

Police questioned four youths after a bright green laser was shined into the cockpit of a Ryanair plane

The suspects could be charged with endangering the services of public transport.

Lasers pose a serious threat to pilots as they can cause temporary blindness and eye damage.

In this case, the pilots managed to handle the situation and nothing happened.

Miroslava Janusicova, from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Slovak Republic, said: ‘Unfortunately, similar incidents are common not only in Slovakia, but it is a worldwide problem.

‘About 30 similar incidents are reported annually in Slovakia.’

She added: ‘Dazzling of a pilot can be very dangerous especially during landing and taking off.’

Lasers pose a serious threat to pilots as they can cause temporary blindness and eye damage

Lasers pose a serious threat to pilots as they can cause temporary blindness and eye damage

Martin Kona, a spokesperson for the Slovakian Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development, said an investigation is underway.

‘The Aviation and Maritime Investigation Authority received a report about the incident.

‘The cabin crew of the Ryanair airplane reported the green laser to the Air Navigation Services Provider that sent the report to our office.’ 

A Ryanair spokeswoman told MailOnline Travel: 'In the unfortunate event that a laser is shone at one of our planes the captain reports it to the relevant authorities and it is then dealt with as a criminal offence.'

In the US, there has been a spate of similar incidents in the New York, Boston and Dallas areas this month.

On Wednesday night, lasers were pointed at two planes – one belonging to JetBlue and the other to Air Canada – at Boston’s Logan airport. Five planes were targeted in the New York area late Tuesday and early Wednesday.

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