A Boston-area man faces possible federal charges after illuminating a Massachusetts State Police helicopter with a hand-held laser pointer last month. The helicopter was on a mission to secure a liquid natural gas tanker near the shore when the crew noticed a laser light touching the aircraft. The aircrew used equipment on the helicopter to identify the origin of the light, and later arrested an unidentified male.

On the West coast, a Bakersfield (CA) couple was arrested for shining a laser light into the cockpit of a sheriff's helicopter. They face federal charges of interfering with the safe operation of a Kern County Sheriff's Department helicopter. Authorities said a green laser beam lit up the cockpit of the helicopter and disoriented the pilot. The couple faces the possibility of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Another incident occurred last month when two men were arrested for pointing laser beams at an Orange County Sheriff's Office helicopter. The 52-year-old suspect was booked on charges of discharging a laser at an aircraft, and a second 27-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident. The pilot said he noticed a light being aimed at them from a driveway. No one was injured.

A teenager in California, testing one of his Christmas presents, was arrested for aiming a laser pointer at a jetliner, a commuter bus and a Newport Beach Police Department helicopter. Officers aboard the helicopter traced the laser beam to a Newport Beach home where the 15-year-old Las Vegas boy was staying with relatives.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there were 420 reports of lasers being aimed at aircraft in 2007.