While this is true, harsher penalties for those who do get caught and publicizing how severe they are may help. Throw the book at these people, a bad laser strike with the right laser can end a pilot’s career in fractions of a second, not to mention the obvious risk to safety of the pilot, passengers, and people on the ground. It’s easily justifiable to make shining a laser at an aircraft as severe a charge as trying to force your way into a cockpit midflight. Easily available high powered lasers pointers are terrifying, they are so powerful that they can cause damage from shocking distances with an unlucky hit.