A day after the Department of Transportation urged pilots to report hazardous laser beams aimed at aircraft, the U.S. military said it is testing a system to beam red and green lasers at aircraft in the Washington area as a warning when they enter restricted airspace.
The plan has prompted confusion among some area pilots who said they were unsure whether they would be able to tell the difference between a commercial laser used by someone playing at home and one operated by the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta on Wednesday urged pilots to report laser sightings to the Federal Aviation Administration and local law enforcement. A commercially available laser beamed into a cockpit can distract a pilot and in rare cases cause permanent eye damage.
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