Johnson County man arrested for pointing laser at aircraft

A 23-year-old man could face federal charges after authorities say he admitted to shining a green laser light at numerous aircraft, prompting flights to be diverted.

Austin Lawrence Siferd was arrested Wednesday by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office on suspicion of illumination of aircraft by intense light, a misdemeanor.

Federal investigators, however, are expected to meet with Siferd in anticipation of filing federal charges, according to a news release from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office got a report early Wednesday that someone was pointing a laser light at aircraft in DFW airspace.

Lynn Lunsford, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said that a total of nine laser strikes were reported in North Texas overnight, all in the Johnson County area.

Eight involved commercial flights, including American, American Eagle, Southwest and FedEx flights, he said. The planes were headed for Dallas/Fort Worth, Love Field and Alliance airports, he said.

The ninth aircraft struck was a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter that had been sent to the area to search for the laser’s origin.

The helicopter crew was able to pinpoint where the laser was coming from and led deputies to the location — a home in the 9000 block of County Road 604 in a rural area of the county.

Siferd and two other people inside the home told deputies they were asleep and were not aware of any incident involving a laser, the release states.

After being told that the DPS helicopter filmed the incident and pinpointed the location, Siferd asked to speak with authorities privately. He then turned over the green laser to deputies and admitted that he had pointed it at aircraft, not realizing that it was actually strong enough to reach them.

Lunsford said that, as of July 10, the FAA had received 50 laser strike reports in the North Texas area this year.

According to the FAA website, the number of reported laser strikes at aircraft has steadily increased over the past several years. In 2014, 3,894 strikes were reported in the country, 10 times more than the number reported in 2006.

The FAA is working with local, state and federal authorities to pursue civil and criminal penalties against those who purposely aim a laser at an aircraft, warning that many high-powered lasers can completely incapacitate pilots.

Overnight in the metropolitan New York City area, pilots of five flights say lasers were shone at their planes, according to The Associated Press. The FAA says laser beams were aimed at flights between 9:25 p.m. Tuesday and 12:10 a.m. Wednesday.

This story was originally published July 22, 2015 at 10:23 AM with the headline "Johnson County man arrested for pointing laser at aircraft."