RACQ LifeFlight Rescue is calling on the community to help keep Air Ambulance Jet crews safe and report any dangerous use of laser pointers to police.
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In the past six months, there have been five reported laser strikes on RACQ LifeFlight Rescue aircraft, including air ambulance jets and helicopters.
"They're obviously doing a busy job, in a congested airspace, so having to deal with these kind of attacks is quite distracting and it puts the crews under pressure they don't need to be under," LifeFlight Director of Quality & Safety Jon Turley said.
The spike makes up nearly one third of all reported incidents, since 2017.
In some cases, patients were on board.
"Majority of the time, it's a life or death situation, so flight crews being distracted and having to deal with this, does have an influence on their performance," Mr Turley said.
The most recent incident, involving a fixed-wing asset, was July this year, when a Townsville-based RACQ LifeFlight Rescue Air Ambulance crew reported a laser strike, while in flight over Townsville.
Mr Turley said affected crews have acted professionally.
"One of the biggest things they do, straight away, is notify air traffic control," he said.
"They also don't look at the source, they try and protect their eyes."
Exposure to lasers can result in long lasting eye damage.
"The laser can bounce around off other surfaces, so once it gets into the cockpit, it can then go into the eye, from different areas," Mr Turley said.
As well as affecting the crew members' vision at the time, hazards can also include flash blindness and loss of night vision, with the risk of losing control of the aircraft.
A laser pointer is defined as a weapon, under the Weapons Act 1990 and offences are punishable under the Criminal Code Act 1899.
"People must understand laser pointers are not toys and can pose real risks to the safety of pilots and the aircraft they fly," Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesperson, Peter Gibson, said.
"Lasers must never be pointed at aircraft and anyone with a legitimate use for lasers must get the relevant approvals."
LifeFlight's Mr Turley reminded the community that aircraft being targeted in this manner, not only poses a significant safety risk to flight crews, but also the ill or injured person on board the chopper.
"Leave the lasers alone and let us do our job."
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