Phoenix man arrested after allegedly pointing laser at aircraft: police

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Virginia man arrested after shining laser at police helicopter

Virginia man, 25, arrested after shining laser at Fairfax 1 helicopter while authorities search for suspect on the run. (Courtesy: Fairfax County Police)

A man has been arrested in connection to an incident involving a laser pointer and a commercial aircraft, according to the Phoenix Police Department.

In a statement, police identified the suspect as William Hill, 35.

The incident happened just before 5:30 p.m. Thursday, after reports that a man was shooting at commercial aircraft with a laser pointer, as the planes were about to land at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.

According to police, Hill "continued to shoot the laser pointer at the Phoenix police helicopter as patrol officers arrived in the area."

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Booking photo of William Hill, an Arizona man arrested for allegedly pointing a laser at planes and a police helicopter. (Maricopa County Sheriff's Office)

Officers later recovered a laser from the home, and Hill was booked into the Maricopa County jail on two felony counts of aiming a laser pointer at an occupied aircraft.

The FAA released a statement to Fox News Digital about the incident saying it was still under investigation.

"The flight crew of Southwest Airlines Flight 2418 reported being illuminated by a green laser near Phoenix, Arizona, around 8:30 p.m. local time on Thursday, Dec. 21. Local authorities were notified. The FAA will investigate," the FAA stated.

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Phoenix police say a man was arrested Thursday evening for shining a laser pointer at a passenger jet and a police helicopter. (Caitlin O'Hara/Getty Images/File)

The FAA added that pilots reported 9,500 laser strikes to the FAA in 2022. 

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"Two hundred and seventy-eight pilots have reported an injury from a laser strike to the FAA since 2010. People who shine lasers at aircraft face FAA fines of up to $11,000 per violation and up to $30,800 for multiple laser incidents. The FAA issued $120,000 in fines for laser strikes in 2021," the FAA said.