FAA says laser strikes on aircraft fell for the third consecutive year

Anna Washenko· Sep 17, 2026 · 10:15 PM UTC ·1 min read · 0 reactions · 0 comments · 9 views

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News EVs and Transportation FAA says laser strikes on aircraft fell for the third consecutive year But it still happens kind of a lot. 17, 2026 6:15 pm EST Crobertson/Getty Images Add Engadget on Google: Preferred Source Google Discover The US Federal Aviation Administration released statistics Thursday about about the number of laser strikes on planes so far in 2026. Reported incidents decreased for the third year in a row, with the latest figure marking a 24 percent drop from the same period in 2025.

Key facts

▪News EVs and Transportation FAA says laser strikes on aircraft fell for the third consecutive year But it still happens kind of a lot.
▪17, 2026 6:15 pm EST Crobertson/Getty Images Add Engadget on Google: Preferred Source Google Discover The US Federal Aviation Administration released statistics Thursday about about the number of laser strikes on planes so far in 2026.
▪Reported incidents decreased for the third year in a row, with the latest figure marking a 24 percent drop from the same period in 2025.

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Original publisher	Engadget
Canonical URL	https://www.engadget.com/2261903/faa-says-laser-strikes-on-aircraft-fell-for-the-third-consecutive-year/
Publication time	Thu, 17 Sep 2026 22:15:46 +0000
Retrieval time	2026-09-17T22:18:44.931Z
Last seen	2026-09-17T22:18:44.931Z
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand

News EVs and Transportation FAA says laser strikes on aircraft fell for the third consecutive year But it still happens kind of a lot. By Anna Washenko Sept. 17, 2026 6:15 pm EST Crobertson/Getty Images Add Engadget on Google: Preferred Source Google Discover The US Federal Aviation Administration released statistics Thursday about about the number of laser strikes on planes so far in 2026. Reported incidents decreased for the third year in a row, with the latest figure marking a 24 percent drop from the same period in 2025. However, there were still 4,470 cases of planes being targeted by lasers between January and July of this year. The top states where pilots reported the incidents were California at 614 and Texas at 445.

…

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