FBI seeking information on increased incidents of lasers affecting planes in Spokane, Seattle

The FBI is seeking information on lasers tracking planes landing at Spokane and Seattle airports, the agency said in a news release Wednesday.

Both Seattle and Spokane have seen a “dramatic increase” in these types of incidents since March, the release said. The lasers are coming from neighborhoods like the West Plains, Nine Mile Falls, Hillyard and Green Bluff, and are illuminating the cockpit of the aircraft, affecting the pilots’ vision field as they approach to land the plane. This could lead to a serious crash or even a midair collision, the FBI says on their website.

The laser incidents in Seattle are not believed to be related to the ones in Spokane, according to the release.

In 2023, a federal grand jury indicted 43-year-old Johnny Blackstock on two felonies in connection to aiming a laser at an aircraft. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced last year to time served, according to court documents. Just this month, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said their air unit was on a regular patrol flight and reported two green laser strikes northwest of the airport. Rusty A. Flett, 45, was taken into custody in connection with the laser strikes hours later, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

The maximum federal sentence for pointing a laser at an aircraft is five years in prison with a $250,000 fine.