Dallas

3 More Planes Hit By Lasers Southeast of Dallas: FAA

For the second consecutive night, Dallas police searched for a culprit responsible for shining a laser at airplanes above North Texas.

Three planes reported laser strikes Wednesday and three more were struck Thursday. According to the FAA, laser strikes can be dangerous and "completely incapacitate pilots who are trying to fly safely to their destinations and may be carrying hundreds of passengers."

The Federal Aviation Administration said the pilots of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 and a private jet reported the green laser strikes at about 7 p.m. Thursday within about two minutes of each other.

The planes were each flying about five miles southeast of Dallas Love Field and were at an altitude of about 2,000 feet at the time.

And just after 9 p.m. the FAA said a third airplane, a Cessna C172 single-propeller private aircraft, was illuminated by a green laser on its left side with northbound at 4,500 feet, approximately five miles south of Dallas Love Field.

No injuries were reported with Thursday's incidents.

Three planes were struck by lasers Wednesday, including a Southwest Airlines jet and a Virgin America jet, about 10 miles southeast of Dallas Love Field.

The latest strikes come as Dallas police report an overall uptick in the number of laser strikes on planes in the area.

Laser strikes also plagued New York City on Wednesday, where an NBC helicopter was hit, along with another news chopper and a police helicopter. A 20-year-old man was arrested in connection with the strikes in New York.

Hitting an aircraft with a laser is a federal offense punishable by prison or an $11,000 fine.

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