Virgin flight returns to Heathrow after laser shone into cockpit dazzles pliot

When the flight reached the west coast of Ireland, a crew member reported to Irish air traffic controllers there was a “medical issue with one of the pilots after a laser incident after take-off”.

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A British Airways co-pilot reportedly suffered a burned retina in his right eye after a “military strength” laser beam was shone into the cockpit of his plane landing at Heathrow in November 2015.

Bethany McHutchinson, one of the passengers on board Sunday’s Virgin Atlantic flight, said she feared for the lives of everyone on board when the pilot told them about the laser strike.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said the flight landed safely and the airline was now working with officials to identify the source of the laser.

“This is not an isolated incident”, said Jim McAuslan, general secretary of the British Airline Pilot’s Association, in a statement Monday.

“It is an incredibly unsafe thing to do”.

There has been a surge in the number of reported laser attacks on aircraft in the United Kingdom in the last few years, according to Civil Aviation Authority figures.

“Following this incident the first officer reported feeling unwell”.

An investigation into the laser beam incident is underway.

The beams can also temporarily disorient and blind pilots.

A passenger on board a New York-bound plane which was turned back to Heathrow after a laser incident saw a pilot taken to hospital has described the ordeal as “scary”.

Shining lasers at planes is illegal but no-one has yet been arrested in connection with the incident, the Metropolitan Police said.