11:35 AM: We received a few questions this morning about unusual jet noise over West Seattle around 4 am. After some phone calls, we got this information from the FAA’s Elizabeth Isham Cory:
The crew of a Boeing 767-300 cargo jet reported a blue laser illuminated their aircraft at 4:10 a.m. Wednesday while they were on approach to Boeing Field – King County International Airport. The aircraft, which had departed from Rockford, Ill., landed without incident. The FAA alerted the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department about the laser strike.
The Federal Aviation Administration remains vigilant in raising awareness about misuse of lasers when they are pointed towards aircraft. Intentionally aiming lasers at an aircraft poses a safety threat to pilots and violates federal law.
The FAA works closely with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to pursue civil and criminal penalties against people who purposely aim a laser at an aircraft. The agency takes enforcement action against people who violate Federal Aviation Regulations by shining lasers at aircraft and can impose civil penalties of up to $11,000 per violation. You can learn more here.
Tracker archives show the flight was UPS flight 988. Here’s their track on the way in, from FlightRadar24:
The statement left us with a few questions, so we are continuing to follow up, but wanted to let you know what we had found so far.
ADDED 10:30 PM: We never did hear back on our followup questions for the FAA. So we asked King County spokesperson Cameron Satterfield if Boeing Field itself had had to handle the arrival in a different way. Satterfield’s reply: “Neither our Airport Ops or ARFF folks got any kind of alert or notice of a problem for this flight.” But Satterfield checked three recent arrivals of the same flight on the same runway via a tracker and noted that today’s flight “spent a slightly longer time at lower altitude than the same flight did when it landed on Runway 14R on May 28, June 4, and June 8. Also, instead of crossing over Shoreline, Magnolia, and downtown, it came in over Burien, White Center and West Seattle before turning over Puget Sound on final approach.” Also a reminder: “As we always like to remind folks, if they have a concern or question about aircraft noise for flights arriving or departing Boeing Field, they can make a report on our website at kingcounty.gov/services/airport/noise.aspx or by calling 206-316-2515.”
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