Despite what the FAA describes as a “vigilant campaign to heighten awareness of the serious safety risks,” laser strikes on aircraft increased markedly last year after a slight decline for the previous year. According to an FAA press release today (Jan. 30), there were 13,304 reported laser strikes last year, up from 9,457 in 2022. The 2022 figure represented an improvement from the 9,723 incidents in 2021.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/laser-infractions-ramped-up-significantly-in-2023