Kolkata: Disoriented by laser beams, the pilot of a Malaysia Airlines flight was forced to reposition his craft and delay the landing barely 15 km away from Kolkata airport on Saturday night. The plane, with 159 passengers and seven crew members on board, had to gain elevation and circled for some time before making a safe landing. The beams that distracted the pilot were emitted from a ground somewhere close to Barasat, north of the airport, said sources.Following the incident, reported minutes before the flight was about to land, the carrier lodged a complaint with Kolkata airport authorities who then filed a police complaint with NSCBI police station. An investigation has been initiated.The Kuala Lumpur-Kolkata Flight MH-184 was scheduled to land ahead of its usual schedule on Saturday, around 11.18 pm. Sources said the aircraft was about eight nautical miles from the runway when flashes of laser light were seen from the cockpit. The aircraft circled for some time before landing safely on runway 19L at 11.23 pm. It was subsequently parked at bay 57L.With repeated instances of unauthorised laser beams flashing into cockpits during final approaches at Kolkata airport, the Airports Authority of India was forced to issue an SOP last year to prevent the critical safety hazard. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has prohibited the use of laser lights within an 18.5-km radius of an airport.Under the AAI protocol, any laser interference reported has to be communicated immediately to the police or district administration so that the source can be identified and appropriate legal action taken. “Once the violators have been identified and the laser activity is stopped, a report has to be forwarded to the airport director,” a senior airport official said.The SOP also directs cops to remain vigilant and patrol areas around the airport. Requests for laser shows or illumination in the vicinity are not to be approved. Bidhannagar Police has repeatedly warned that laser shows are banned across its jurisdiction and in large parts of the Barrackpore Commissionerate area.The SOP also assigns a role to civic bodies, which have been asked to conduct regular awareness campaigns and publish advertisements highlighting the legal and safety consequences of unauthorised laser use.An aircraft can descend at around 1,500-2,000ft per minute during landing, making even a brief loss of visual focus potentially hazardous. “The problem is more acute when the pilot is looking at the runway for landing. The laser beams cause temporary blindness,” an airline official said.“Prominent signage banning laser lights has been made mandatory at puja pandals, banquet halls, hotels and circus tents, which have been identified as frequent sources of violations. We will hold fresh meetings with all stakeholders as we approach the festive and wedding season,” said a senior airport official.“We are checking the source of the laser light. Strict action will be taken against the banquet operator or organiser once we spot the offender,” the officer added.
