A man allegedly moved between the windows of an Auckland house to keep a laser pointed at the police helicopter as it flew over Mount Eden early this morning, police say.
Eagle had been flying above the suburb at about 2.50am when the crew noticed the light directed at the aircraft.
Acting Senior Sergeant Christian Iogha said the laser had lasted several seconds at a time, with one incident lasting almost 30 seconds.
“Officers quickly spotted a man shining the light and moving around the house to use different windows as the aircraft was moving,” he said.
Flight tracking data showed the helicopter making several loops over Sandringham, Mount Roskill and Three Kings around the time of the incident.
Iogha said the helicopter’s on-board technology identified the property, and police took a man into custody without incident.
A 28-year-old man has been charged with interfering with an aircraft under the Civil Aviation Act 2023.
He is due to appear in the Auckland District Court next Tuesday.
“The Police helicopter crew is out there working hard for the protection and safety of our community, and this type of behaviour puts everyone at risk,” Iogha said.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), laser strikes can leave pilots with momentary flash blindness, with after-images lingering in their vision once the beam has moved away. The effects can sometimes take days to pass.
The CAA said high-powered laser pointers can dazzle pilots from several kilometres away and the most severe cases can cause prolonged eye injury.
Laser strikes on aircraft, particularly at night, have been trending upwards since portable laser pointers became freely available, the authority said.
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