WA law makes it ‘next to impossible’ to prosecute laser strikes on aircraft, King County prosecutors say

Hundreds of laser strikes on aircraft are reported across Washington each year, but King County prosecutors said a loophole in state law makes it nearly impossible to hold anyone accountable, even when suspects admit to pointing the beam.

The issue centers on Washington’s unlawful discharge of a laser statute, which requires prosecutors to prove a defendant both knowingly and maliciously pointed a laser at an aircraft. That two-pronged standard has become an insurmountable barrier in court, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO).

Casey McNerthney, a KCPAO spokesperson, said the problem was illustrated in a recent case in which a man admitted to targeting a helicopter with a laser pointer. The man told investigators he had been casually playing with the laser when he spotted the helicopter. Police arrested him, and prosecutors charged him with unlawful discharge of a laser, a felony. But a court found him not guilty.

“It’s just that really simple fix in the law that could make such a difference, the ‘and maliciously’ part,” McNerthney said on “Seattle’s Morning News.” “It’s important to get that law changed.”

Danger to pilots is severe, and the federal government treats it as a crime too

The danger to pilots is severe. When a laser hits an aircraft, the light refracts inside the cockpit canopy.

The federal government also classifies pointing a laser at an aircraft as a crime, but its statute requires only that the act be done knowingly, without the added malice requirement. McNerthney said federal prosecutors theoretically could take the cases but are occupied with gun and drug cases, making county prosecutors the logical choice.

“It makes the most sense for county prosecutors to have these cases,” McNerthney said.

King County prosecutors plan to bring the issue to state lawmakers ahead of the upcoming legislative session in Olympia. McNerthney said it is part of a longer list of proposed fixes, including tougher enforcement tools for copper wire theft, another persistent problem.

“There’s a lot of simple fixes that we hope that we see in Olympia coming up,” McNerthney said.

The Federal Aviation Administration has recorded thousands of laser strikes on aircraft nationwide in recent years. Pilots and aviation safety advocates have long warned that even a momentary distraction during takeoff or landing could prove catastrophic.

Manda Factor is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. Follow Manda on X and email her here. 

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