Man held for shining laser at aircraft

A man from Parsippany, New Jersey, was accused on Tuesday of shining a laser pen into the cockpits of a small passenger jet and a helicopter...

A man from Parsippany, New Jersey, was accused on Tuesday of shining a laser pen into the cockpits of a small passenger jet and a helicopter over the last week, then lying about his actions when confronted by federal agents at his home.

With at least seven such incidents reported by pilots in various parts of the country since Christmas, federal prosecutors said they were using the arrest of the man, David Banach, 38, a fiber optics technician and father of three, to make a point. Aviation experts said that concentrated beams of light could disorient or blind pilots, and prosecutors said that no threat to aviation, however accidental, would be tolerated in today’s era of terrorism.

Banach was charged with interference of the operator of a mass transit vehicle, a felony under the antiterrorism law known as the USA Patriot Act, carrying a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A second charge of giving false testimony could bring an additional five years, and a $250,000 fine, if he is convicted.

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Banach has been released on a $100,000 bond, his passport has been turned over to federal authorities.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has ruled out terrorism as a possible motive, and said that Banach is not connected to the other laser incidents around the country.

His lawyer, Gina Mendola Longarzo, said her client was essentially a ‘‘sacrificial lamb.’’ She said he would plead not guilty, and that on the evening of Dec. 29, he never intended to point the laser at the plane or hurt the pilots or six passengers inside. ‘‘He ordered it online,’’ she said, after the hearing. ‘‘He uses it at work and as a gadget to look at the stars.’’ —NYT

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