DAMMAM, 2 June 2008 — Police recently arrested an 18-year-old Saudi for pointing a laser beam at planes landing at Ahsa airport. The arrest followed a complaint from airport officials after a pilot had been temporarily blinded by a laser beam.
Airport officials said the beam had been flashed from the National Guard Housing Compound in Ahsa. Police, together with guards at the accommodation, arrested the teenager. They found a laser in his possession. The youngster was handed over to Al-Mubarraz police for further questioning.
In April this year, a green laser beam directed from the ground briefly blinded pilots of two passenger planes coming in to land at Riyadh’s King Khaled International Airport, according to Al-Riyadh newspaper.
One of the planes, arriving from Jeddah, had to delay landing. The pilot handed control of the plane to his co-pilot, who safely landed the aircraft. It later transpired that the lasers were flashed from the Thumama area, 50 km north of Riyadh. A youth was subsequently arrested.
