The Kolkata airport authorities Saturday night filed a police complaint about laser beam interference faced by a pilot of a flight from Delhi to Kolkata during landing.
The Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate launched an investigation and the laser show was stopped, said an officer of the commissionerate.
This was the second complaint in the past week of laser beams, used in programmes near the airport, temporarily blinding pilots of flights approaching the airport for landing.
“We will record the statements of all the pilots whose flights landed at the Kolkata airport on Saturday evening. We need to understand the nature of the problem,” said a senior officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate.
Airport sources said the flight from Delhi landed in the city around 9.54pm yesterday.
The pilot reported that when the flight was around 14 to 18 nautical miles (25 to 34km) from the airport, a laser ray had flashed and blinded him for a few seconds.
It was reported that the ray had appeared to have originated from the Ganganagar area.
“The complaint was sent to the airport police station, from where it was conveyed to the adjoining police stations,” said an officer of the commissionerate.
“Soon after the place from where the laser beam originated was identified and the show where laser lights were being used was stopped.”
On Thursday, a similar complaint was filed by the pilot of a Kolkata-bound flight from Agartala.
In the past few weeks, there were several complaints of laser beams disturbing pilots.
A senior pilot of an airline said laser beams usually interfere at a height of 1,500 to 2,000 feet from the ground.
“The problem is faced particularly when the pilot is looking at the runway for landing. The laser rays can cause temporary blindness. They can also cause permanent damage to the eyes. These are serious safety concerns,” said the pilot.
An airport official said they frequently receive such complaints from pilots.
“We keep getting complaints about laser beams from pilots every month. The airport terminal manager then files a complaint with the police, who take action,” he said.
The police said once they receive a complaint from the airport authorities, they circulate the message to all police stations adjoining the airport and a search is launched to locate the place of the laser show.
