Search aircraft hit by laser in Hawai’i

| January 17, 2016

c130_4

The Honolulu Star Advertiser reports that a Coast Guard aircraft involved in the search for survivors of the two helicopters that collided late last week was targeted by “a green laser originating from Haleiwa Beach Park”. The crew of the C-130 Hercules was forced to alter their flight path in the search as a result.

The Star Advertiser lists the names and short bios of the 12 missing Marines;

— Maj. Shawn M. Campbell, 41, College Station, Texas.

— Capt. Brian T. Kennedy, 31, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

— Capt. Kevin T. Roche, 30, St. Louis, Missouri.

— Capt. Steven R. Torbert, 29, Florence, Alabama.

— Sgt. Dillon J. Semolina, 24,Chaska, Minnesota.

— Sgt. Adam C. Schoeller, 25, Gardners, Pennsylvania.

— Sgt. Jeffrey A. Sempler, 22, Woodruff, South Carolina.

— Sgt. William J. Turner, 25, Florala, Alabama.

— Cpl. Matthew R. Drown, 23, Spring, Texas.

— Cpl. Thomas J. Jardas, 22, Fort Myers, Florida.

— Cpl. Christopher J. Orlando, 23, Hingham, Massachusetts.

— Lance Cpl. Ty L. Hart, 21, Aumsville, Oregon.

Category: Coast Guard, Marine Corps

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NR Pax

I hope they find the people responsible for that and beat them into bloody rags.

Aysel

^^this, repeatedly

Ex-PH2

This is stupid post-teen sub-adult idiots who think they’re being clever and won’t get caught.

WRONG.

It means jailtime for whoever did it.

HMCS(FMF) ret.
Tom Huxton

Perhaps a news service trying to get some shots. Use the laser to aim the telephoto lens.

Beat ’em bloody with their own tripod.

Time to register laser owners. Now everyone will want to hoard a few.

Hayabusa

A family member of mine flies CH-53Es in Hawaii, and the aircraft involved in this accident were from his unit. My relative was not on board, but he lost several friends in the incident. RIP.

19D2OR4-Smitty

Missing not dead. Don’t write them off just yet

Hayabusa

Oh, and if they find the assholes who were “playing” with the laser, it would be appropriate to turn them over to the Marines at Kaneohe Bay to deal with as they see fit.

bman

I don’t know much about the effect a laser would have on a pilot. Any possibility of a link to the helicopter crash?

HMCS(FMF) ret.

Here’s one of the first incidents I remember reading about…

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Navy-refuses-Purple-Heart-to-officer-injured-by-1156053.php

MustangCryppie

I was on missions in the mid 80s that were “lazed” by the Russians.

Ex-PH2

It can temporarily blind the pilot and/or the co-pilot.

GDContractor

Moreso I think if they are wearing NVG’s

Club Manager

Haleiwa Beach Park is a few miles from Schofield Barracks. I honestly don’t see a local doing anything like that, maybe a doper but the only one’s at the park at night would be partiers so it was probably a drunk who thought it funny, or maybe someone high on weed. Great surf and I almost killed myself on a wipeout back in the day.

MustangCryppie

“I honestly don’t see a local doing anything like that…”

Seriously? Trust me, I was a beat cop on Oahu. They’s plenny da local kine who would do it and laugh their okoles off.

RM3(SS)

Mustang, you were a lucky man. I always wanted to move back to Oahu and work for HPD. Being a cop in California paid so much better though, and by the time I retired I was just too busted up to start another street job. My heart and my kids are still in the islands, one day I will move back.

MustangCryppie

RM3, I went through the academy with a guy who was a San Diego cop for 13 years and came back to Oahu (he was from Haleiwa). He had to go through the academy all over again! Piece of cake for him obviously.

Heck, even though you’re “all bus’ up” you can still be HPD. I went through the academy when I was 50! Remember Chief Moose, the guy who was the Montgomery County police chief during the DC Sniper case? He was in the class after mine. Difference between him and me is I went on the street and he didn’t. He was supposed to work First Watch in Waianae, but he never showed up! Ha! Last I heard he worked in the command suite, probably so the current Chief could keep an eye on him.

HPD is going through some tough times. They get smacked around all the time in Hawaii. Let’s see. Two of my classmates were charged with felonies. One is in jail, the second not far behind. The first got nailed for excessive force and is in the hoosegow in CA, the second was a drug dealer (!) and will be locked up for a loooooong time. Lots of other cases of domestic violence, etc, etc, etc. Not sure I would want to be on the force now.

nbcguy54ACTUAL

Remember that not too many locals like the Howlies(sp). Most military folks stationed there aren’t looked at as “locals”.

MustangCryppie

Yeah, I got pretty damn tired of being called a “fucking Haole.”

The ones I really felt sorry for were the white kids who went to the local schools. They were tortured by the local kids. Pretty sad.

nbcguy54ACTUAL

I got lucky. My wife and I spent enough time on Johnston Island to develop some good friendships and contacts and got treated mostly as locals.

ocean12

What is it with people pointing lasers?
Here in the Pacific Northwest, I can recall a couple of incidents of lasers being pointed at airliners and at a ferry. People have also pointed high-powered flashlights at Navy aircraft doing FCLPs.

MustangCryppie

A seriously terminal case of Fuckingmoronaitis.

There are THOSANDS of laser incidents against aircraft worldwide every year.

The real idiots are the ones who laser cops. Happened to one of my sergeants once and to a beat partner while he and his partner were searching for a felon. Seriously stupid.

nbcguy54ACTUAL

Back in the mid-nineties when I was at Ft Hood, my brother in law, who was there too, caught a laser in the eye while flying a Huey. Grounded for two weeks while thankfully his eye healed. Could have been worse in many ways.

This laser stupidity has been going on for a long time and they’ll only get really serious about it when it brings down an aircraft and it’s proven.

Mike

SUNY Maritime’s campus is directly across the East River from La Guardia and many an asswipe would spend their drunken evenings on the seawall pointing lasers at the planes landing and taking off. When threats of arrest and prison time came around everyone suddenly “lost” their laser pointers.

Pinto Nag

Two Marine helicopters collide/crash during training, and now one of the rescue planes is lazed? Is it possible they’re connected?