COLUMBUS, Ind. — A Columbus man is in jail facing potential narcotics and firearm charges after a weekend arrest. But it is how police found the man that is attracting attention.
According to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, a sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to an area around the Columbus Municipal Airport late Saturday night after emergency dispatchers received reports of someone shining a green laser at planes that were on final approach at Indianapolis International Airport.
Deputy Dylan Prather was dispatched to the area where pilots had reported seeing the laser, but he was unable to locate the laser.
About 20 minutes later, while back on routine patrol, Prather noticed a vehicle traveling on U.S. 31, near Interstate 65 in Columbus, with a green laser shining out the window. Then, the laser was aimed at the deputy, according to Sheriff Chris Lane.
“Lo and behold, a green laser gets shined at one of our deputies. That’s when the stop occurred,” Lane told 13News.
Inside the suspect’s car, Prather found methamphetamine, crushed prescription pills, a handgun and two laser devices, according to a department press release. The 49-year old man, who 13News is not identifying because he has not yet been formally charged, is facing possible charges of pointing a laser at a public safety official, possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance and dealing a controlled substance. He could also face federal charges for pointing a laser at an aircraft.
“It’s a federal offense to be shining a laser beam at an aircraft,” Lane said. “It can cause catastrophic incidents.”
The arrest is just the latest incident that points to a rapidly growing problem.
Nationwide, pilots reported 13,304 laser strikes on aircraft in 2023 — a 41% increase over the year before.
In Indiana, the jump is even bigger. The FAA says pilots were targeted by lasers 747 times last year, up nearly 80% from 2022.
A 13News investigation showed cheap lasers found online for less than $30 put air passengers at risk because they can cause severe eye injuries for pilots. Carl Thompson was struck by a laser as he tried to land a FedEx cargo jet in Indianapolis.
“I couldn’t see. At the time, everything, my eyes just went white,” he told 13News last summer. “If that had been me flying that airplane by myself that night, it would've been over, just because of that temporary blindness.”
Thompson’s resulting eye injuries grounded him for nearly a year and required two eye surgeries to repair his lost vision.
Incidents like that concern the Bartholomew County sheriff.
“There’s a lot of lives that could be jeopardized there just because of somebody not thinking,” Lane said.
The Federal Aviation Administration requests the public immediately report any incidents involving lasers pointed at aircraft.