Garda helicopter crew targeted by laser thugs

THE crew of a Garda Air Support Unit helicopter was targeted by thugs with a potentially blinding laser after officers were sent to investigate an incident involving a plane which had taken off from Dublin Airport.

Air traffic controllers at Dublin contacted gardaí after the crew of a Ryanair flight from Dublin to Liverpool reported that a laser was pointed at the cockpit of their aircraft shortly after take-off. Controllers had also received similar reports from other aircraft earlier in the evening.

At around 11.15pm, a Garda helicopter was dispatched from its base at Baldonnel Aerodrome to investigate reports of a laser being pointed at an aircraft near Malahide in north Co Dublin. As the chopper made its way to the scene, it too was targeted with a laser by an individual in the Darndale area. The helicopter crew advised air traffic controllers that a laser had been aimed at their aircraft and that they would attempt to deal with that incident before proceeding to the original report.