Two men suspected of flashing a laser pointer at a commercial airplane and a Pima County Sheriff's Department aircraft were arrested this week.
Jack Downey, 23, and Daniel Pribula, 22, of Tucson, face charges of endangerment in the March 5 incident, said Deputy Renee Carlson, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Department.
"We got a report from a commercial airliner saying that they had been flashed with a green laser pointer," she said. "Our aircraft happened to be in the area and they tried to track down where it came from. Our aircraft got lit up with the green laser pointer several times."
The crew of the Sheriff's Department aircraft was able to pinpoint the spot where the laser was flashing and directed ground units to the location, Carlson said.
"Our guys are sometimes flying with night vision. If they flash our guy flying with night vision that amplifies the laser and it could knock out the vision of the pilot," she said. "It's got some pretty serious repercussions."
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