The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently developed a visualization tool that analyzes laser strike data from 2010 to 2020.
The tool uses the Tableau software platform to identify trends, including geographic area, time of day and year, and per capita data. The FAA has made the data available for download on its website.
The FAA hopes sharing the information will draw attention to the dangerously high rate of laser strikes on airplanes.
Last year, the number of laser strikes reported by pilots rose to 6,852, up from 6,136 in 2019. This was the highest number of annual incidents since 2016.
Shining a laser at an aircraft is a safety threat.
“Pointing a laser at an aircraft can temporarily blind a pilot and not only affects the crew but endangers passengers and the communities they fly over every night,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said.
People who shine lasers at aircraft face fines of up to $11,000 per violation and up to $30,800 for multiple laser incidents. Violators also may face criminal penalties from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
Since 2016, the FAA has issued $600,000 in fines. So far this year, fines have totaled $120,000.
The FAA encourages the public to report laser strikes.