POSTED: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 - 9:17am
UPDATED: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 - 9:27am
(CNN) — A U.S. Coast Guard aircrew member on a surveillance jet suffered temporary vision problems when a laser pointer aimed at the plane filled the cabin with blinding light on approach to Corpus Christi International Airport, the agency said Tuesday.
The incident happened Monday, the Coast Guard said in a news release.
"The laser directly hit one of our crew members while conducting an instrument approach and it filled the cockpit with a blinding light. We had to conduct an emergency landing and one of our crew members was sent to the Bay Area Emergency Room," aircraft commander Lt. Philip Thisse said in the release.
The unidentified crew member was expected to make a full recovery, the Coast Guard said.
Monday's incident is the third of its type since June for aircrews stationed at Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi, the Coast Guard said. A nearby Navy air station has reported two other incidents, it said.
Targeting aircraft with lasers is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The-CNN-Wire/Atlanta/+1-404-827-WIRE(9473)
™ & © 2012 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
By the CNN Wire Staff