Aviation Safety: FAA Should Strengthen Efforts to Address the Illegal Practice of Intentionally Aiming Lasers at Aircraft [Reissued with revisions on Aug. 26, 2022]

Aiming a laser at an aircraft can distract or disorient pilots and is a federal crime. FAA investigates laser incidents, pursues civil penalties, and assists the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) with investigations. The FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 (2016 Act) required FAA to coordinate with appropriate federal law enforcement agencies and report to Congress with quarterly updates for laser cases. We analyzed data from FAA and the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys data from July 2016 through September 2020 on enforcement actions. In 2022 we reported that FAA's reports on laser incidents do not include all federal criminal enforcement action as required by the 2016 Act. FAA reported FBI involvement with investigating 13 laser incidents from July 2016 through September 2020. Our analysis showed that FBI investigated 58 laser incidents and referred the matters to the USAO for consideration, during this same period. FAA reported 4 laser incidents as referred to USAOs for prosecution or handled in the courts. Our analysis showed USAOs prosecuting 44 subjects. FAA officials said they do not routinely request data on the status of actions from other agencies and face challenges, such as access to this data. They also said that there is no requirement for the FBI, USAO, or any other federal agency to update FAA on the status of cases or provide it with laser case documentation. FAA has also not reported limitations in data or challenges it faces in fulfilling the requirements of the 2016 Act. By not routinely seeking updates from agencies, FAA does not provide Congress with a complete picture of laser incident investigations and enforcement actions as required or explain where gaps in information might exist. Therefore, we recommended FAA improve its quarterly reports to Congress on laser incidents by routinely seeking information from other agencies on related federal investigation and enforcement actions and disclosing, in those reports, any limitations with the data. Our review of interagency emails shows FAA routinely requesting enforcement data and USAO providing the data. In 2024, we confirmed that FAA began including enforcement data in quarterly reports to Congress. FAA's reports to Congress now include a specific section on criminal enforcement actions. The reports note that laser incidents investigated by federal criminal authorities are litigated by the USAO and attributes the number of federal criminal actions to the USAO. Specifically, the reports state that the USAO provided information on criminal actions taken on laser incidents from the federal authorities, and states the penalties imposed on violators range from 60 months' probation to 60 months of jail time. The reports also include a note regarding limitations on the data and that the information is subject to change due to FAA's ongoing quality control and improvement efforts. Providing decision makers, including Congress, with more complete information will assist the government's efforts to deter and mitigate laser incidents. Additionally, more complete information will help FAA more effectively evaluate the results of its own enforcement efforts and make adjustments as needed.

Aiming a laser at an aircraft can distract or disorient pilots and is a federal crime. FAA considers each laser incident an in-flight emergency, because of the potential for an accident and adverse effects of lasers on pilots. FAA's data show the number of reported incidents is increasing, and the data shows the number of incidents in 2021 was the highest on record, with 9,723 incidents reported-an increase of about 42 percent from 2020. In 2022 we reported that FAA, FBI, and FDA, which has regulatory authority over lasers, each conduct outreach to educate the public about the dangers and illegality of aiming lasers at aircraft. FAA, FBI, FDA, and other federal agencies previously participated in an interagency laser incident-working group that educated the public about the hazards, effects, and consequences of aiming lasers at aircraft. However, this working group no longer exists because in 2015 FAA decided to leverage the group's accomplishments to create policies on addressing laser incidents, such as enforcement policy. Since then, the number of laser incidents has increased and the difficulty in identifying subjects remains. Some stakeholders told us educating the public about the dangers and the penalties for intentionally aiming a laser at an aircraft was key to deterrence. According to an internal FAA document on the working group, one of the primary goals was to educate the public and aviation community on the hazards, effects, and consequences of aiming a laser at an aircraft. Another FAA document indicated that the working group helped ensure consistent messaging in conferences and educational outreach forums, and helped FBI prepare for a laser incident reward program. Additionally, FAA officials told us the working group facilitated initiatives that improved outreach to the public, pilots, and others. In our prior work, we found that collaborative mechanisms, such as interagency groups, could be used to implement programs and share information. FAA, FBI, and FDA officials told us the agencies do not currently belong to any existing groups or mechanisms where the agencies could collaborate on public outreach efforts. As demonstrated by the previous interagency effort, a mechanism for sharing knowledge and information about laser incidents could help FAA, FBI, and FDA better target and leverage each other's outreach efforts to reduce the number of laser incidents. Therefore, we recommended FAA work with FBI and FDA to explore re-establishing an interagency working group on outreach to educate the public on the hazards of lasers and the illegality of aiming lasers at aircraft. In 2024, we confirmed that FAA established a new working group and began working with FDA and FBI in August 2023 to collaborate on laser safety outreach. In January 2024 the working group coordinated on the release of FAA's 2023 laser incident data. FAA provided FBI and FDA information on targeted media campaigns in five states with the most laser incidents and links to FAA's press release, social media posts, and laser safety webpage. Given that laser incidents are at an all-time high, the interagency working group, similar to what was in place until 2015, could strengthen FAA, FBI and FDA collective outreach activities and better deter incidents.