Man admits shining laser pointer at two aircraft
A 39-year-old man has admitted causing unnecessary danger by shining a laser light at two aircraft.
Tane Hemopo, a builder from Hornby, pleaded guilty to the two charges at the Christchurch District Court today after the Crown dropped Crimes Act charges he has faced since his arrest in April.
Instead, Hemopo was charged under the Civil Aviation Act which carries lower maximum penalties of a fine of up to $10,000 and a year’s imprisonment.
The Crimes Act charge of shining a laser pointer with reckless disregard for the safety of others would have carried a 14-year maximum.
Judge Tom Gilbert remanded Hemopo on bail for sentencing on September 28, and ordered a pre-sentence report with an assessment for home or community detention.
He told Hemopo the home detention assessment was not an indication of the likely sentence.
No restorative justice meeting with the victims ahead of sentencing was ordered, but the judge was told that Hemopo had written a letter of apology to the control tower at Christchurch Airport.
Crown prosecutor Deidre Orchard said Hemopo had a long history of offending, but nothing like this. She asked for the remand for a pre-sentence report to be prepared “to see what’s going on here”.
She said: “There is obviously a lot of anti-social behaviour in his history. It is extraordinary for a man of his age to be engaged in such foolish and dangerous behaviour. You might expect it from a younger person.”
Judge Gilbert said he wanted submissions to be prepared on the outcomes of similar cases ahead of Hemopo’s sentencing.
Mrs Orchard suggested the submissions could also cover the extent of the danger that the laser light posed to flight crew at a time when they might have been engaged in landing.
Defence counsel for Hemopo, Serina Bailey, said other similar cases had commonly been prosecuted under the Civil Aviation Act rather than the Crimes Act, and she was confident Hemopo would receive a community-based sentence.
He pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary danger to the people aboard a Virgin Airlines passenger plane and a New Zealand Post Metroliner on April 5.
The incident happened about 12.30am, when Hemopo was at the Sign of the Kiwi on the Summit Road, on the Port Hills above Christchurch. He had a high powered laser pointer.
He pointed it at the tail of the Metroliner as it was coming in to land, and then at the airport control tower.
A few minutes later, he steadily pointed his laser at the Virgin Airlines flight which was inbound to the airport at about 20,000 feet, for about 20 seconds. The light struck the cockpit, dazzling the flight crew although it had little effect on them, the police said.
Hemopo then pointed it at the aircraft three times, for between 3sec and 15sec, as it was on its final landing approach, at about 4000 feet. The light entered the cockpit and the police say it put the flights at unnecessary risk.
Hemopo admitted pointing the laser but said he did not know it was dangerous. He denied aiming at the cockpit.
The police will ask the sentencing session for permission to destroy the laser.
Earlier court documents said there were 121 people aboard the Virgin flight.
Category: Focus
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