A plane landed safely at the Hollywood Burbank Airport after the pilot’s vision was impacted by a laser Wednesday night, according to airport and airline officials.
The pilot’s vision was blurred by the laser, according to an airport official, and Dan Landson of Southwest Airlines confirmed in an email that a pilot serving as first officer of Southwest Flight 4188 was struck by a green laser “shortly after taking off from Phoenix.”
“The flight continued to Burbank, and once at the gate the Pilot was checked out by medical personnel,” Landson said. “As Safety is our number one priority, a different First Officer was called in to continue flying tonight. There were no other reported concerns among the other Crew members or Passengers.”
The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority Police responded to the initial report of a pilot being affected by the laser, then notified the FBI, whose agents are investigating, according to an FBI spokesperson.
No further details were available.