The Federal Aviation Administration received thousands of reports of lasers being pointed at airplanes last year, shattering all previous records since the agency began tracking the crime.
In total, 13,304 laser strikes were recorded in 2023, an increase of 41% from the previous year.
More than 14% of those incidents, 1,871 to be exact, took place in California, the FAA said. The Golden State was far and away the worst offender, with 461 more incidents reported than the second-highest state, Texas.
While it might appear to be a harmless prank, federal regulators consider laser strikes to be a "serious safety threat" for pilots and their passengers.
Since the FAA began tracking laser strikes in 2010, the lights have been blamed for 313 pilot injuries. Lasers can cause serious injuries to a person's eye, including damage to the cornea. In most serious instances, they can cause temporary or even permanent vision loss.
Last year, the FAA recorded 34 pilot injuries, including four in California.
“The FAA is committed to maintaining the safest air transportation system in the world. Aiming a laser at an aircraft is a serious safety hazard that puts everyone on the plane and on the ground at risk,” said FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker.
Those caught shining lasers at aircraft face FAA fines of up to $11,000 per violation and up to $30,800 for multiple incidents. Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies may also file criminal charges depending on factors including where these laser strikes occurred and what type of aircraft was targeted.
While many laser pointers you can buy in stores are relatively weak, an abundance of high-powered laser pointers can be bought online, including many that are more powerful than allowed by federal regulations, according to a 2013 study from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Lasers on the green spectrum are considered to be especially dangerous as they deliver light that's brighter to the eye.
Even lasers that are considered to be "dim" have been found to emit dangerous levels of light at infrared wavelengths that the eye doesn't pick up.
A 2023 study from the NIST found one instance in which an inexpensive laser "emitted almost twice its rated power level of light—but at invisible and potentially dangerous infrared wavelengths rather than green."
The FAA says it hopes to address these dangerous pranks with public outreach, education and local cooperation. Anyone who witnesses one of these laser strikes is also urged to report it to the FAA or local law enforcement.
The agency also has an interactive map that shows when and where these laser strikes happened across the nation, which it hopes will "draw attention to the dangerously high rate."
For more information about laser strikes, click here.