A 43-year-old Minnesota man has been sentenced to two years behind bars for aiming a laser at a Delta Air Lines plane.
Per a recent press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Wisconsin, Nicholas James Link of Rochester was sentenced last week to two years in prison after pleading guilty earlier this year. The charge stems from an incident in October 2021 in which Link aimed a laser at an Airbus A319 when it was 9,000 feet in the air.
Using a laser in this capacity, as U.S. District Judge William M. Conley told Link in court, is “incredibly dangerous and reckless.” In this particular instance, Conley noted, the laser put all passengers on the plane “in incredible danger” due to it distracting the pilots during a key moment in their process.
At one point in his initial defense, Link is said to have tried arguing that the dangers of using lasers on planes was not common knowledge. Conley refuted this using the points made above, as well as by noting the extensive news coverage surrounding such incidents.
When reached for comment by Complex on Tuesday, has reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for additional comment. This story may be updated.
According to data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), an estimated 9,500 laser strikes were reported by pilot last year. Since 2010, the FAA added, approximately 278 pilots have reported being injured as a result of laser strikes. When reached for comment by Complex on Tuesday, an FAA spokesperson said the agency remains “committed to maintaining the safest air transportation system in the world,” including requesting that laser manufactures employ the use of warning labels on their packaging.
“Aiming a laser at an aircraft is a serious safety hazard that puts everyone on the plane and on the ground below at risk,” the rep told Complex in an email. “It is also a violation of federal law.”
