Narrative:

While approaching the initial fix (if) tnner for the san juan; puerto rico ILS runway 10; we heard a commercial airline pilot ahead of us report that his cockpit had been illuminated by a green laser near tnner. Approach control warned us of this laser strike. We asked for clearance to proceed to waypoint remsy (IAF) instead of tnner (if) to allow us to avoid the area where the green laser strike had been reported. Immediately after being cleared to remsy; our cockpit was illuminated by a very bright ground based green laser coming from the 1:30 clock code position at about six to eight miles from our position. We reported the green laser strike to ATC at approximately (xa:33) Z. The approach controller asked if either pilot had sustained any eye injury. We responded that we did not believe we had sustained any eye injuries. I estimated the laser to be approximately four miles southeast of tnner; or 260 degrees at 8 NM from the sju VOR. I estimate the source to be on the ground between the 436 feet tall tower and the 489 feet tall tower (shown on the sju ILS runway 10 approach plate). The green laser was an unnecessary distraction during a critical phase of flight (approach; configuration change; visually searching for arrival traffic; attempting to locate the runway visually; conducting the landing checklist; landing; etc.). Law enforcement never met us at the airport to take a report. It did not appear that anyone at the FAA or law enforcement were interested in gathering facts immediately after the event in order to pursue the perpetrators. The san juan; pr; tjsj/sju-1; (date); station information page (sip) 3.0; note 6 says; 'numerous laser events have been recorded in area' as a warning to pilots. It seems like laser strikes have become so common in the area of the san juan airport that officials just accept this fact. Is law enforcement aggressively investigating these laser strikes in an attempt to hold the perpetrators accountable? Fortunately; tonight; the laser strike caused only a momentary distraction to the pilots. What happens when a persistent series of laser strikes causes the pilots eye injury; disorientation; and/or loss of aircraft with all passengers onboard. Will the FAA and law enforcement treat the event more seriously after such a catastrophic event?will the FAA; fbi; NTSB; and/or law enforcement aggressively investigate and pursue the perpetrators who are pointing high intensity green lasers at commercial airline cockpits flying into san juan airport.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air Carrier Flight Crew reports Green Laser strike on approach to airport.

Narrative: While approaching the initial fix (IF) TNNER for the San Juan; Puerto Rico ILS Runway 10; we heard a commercial airline pilot ahead of us report that his cockpit had been illuminated by a green laser near TNNER. Approach Control warned us of this laser strike. We asked for clearance to proceed to waypoint REMSY (IAF) instead of TNNER (IF) to allow us to avoid the area where the green laser strike had been reported. Immediately after being cleared to REMSY; our cockpit was illuminated by a very bright ground based green laser coming from the 1:30 clock code position at about six to eight miles from our position. We reported the green laser strike to ATC at approximately (XA:33) Z. The Approach Controller asked if either pilot had sustained any eye injury. We responded that we did not believe we had sustained any eye injuries. I estimated the laser to be approximately four miles southeast of TNNER; or 260 degrees at 8 NM from the SJU VOR. I estimate the source to be on the ground between the 436 feet tall tower and the 489 feet tall tower (shown on the SJU ILS Runway 10 Approach plate). The green laser was an unnecessary distraction during a critical phase of flight (approach; configuration change; visually searching for arrival traffic; attempting to locate the runway visually; conducting the landing checklist; landing; etc.). Law enforcement never met us at the airport to take a report. It did not appear that anyone at the FAA or law enforcement were interested in gathering facts immediately after the event in order to pursue the perpetrators. The San Juan; PR; TJSJ/SJU-1; (date); Station Information Page (SIP) 3.0; Note 6 says; 'Numerous LASER events have been recorded in area' as a warning to pilots. It seems like laser strikes have become so common in the area of the San Juan Airport that officials just accept this fact. Is law enforcement aggressively investigating these laser strikes in an attempt to hold the perpetrators accountable? Fortunately; tonight; the laser strike caused only a momentary distraction to the pilots. What happens when a persistent series of laser strikes causes the pilots eye injury; disorientation; and/or loss of aircraft with all passengers onboard. Will the FAA and law enforcement treat the event more seriously after such a catastrophic event?Will the FAA; FBI; NTSB; and/or law enforcement aggressively investigate and pursue the perpetrators who are pointing high intensity green lasers at commercial airline cockpits flying into San Juan Airport.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.