Laser Christmas light displays prompt warning from aviation officials

Officials with Transport Canada and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration have a warning for homeowners installing certain types of outdoor lighting this holiday season.

Using a laser light projector that shoots a starlight-style display could land you on Santa's naughty list, as they can be a dangerous distraction for pilots passing overhead.

Aaron McCrorie with Transport Canada said it's all rightif people want to channel their inner Clark Griswold from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation while creatinga display, but they need to make sure the laser beams only shine on a solid surface and not skyward into flight paths.

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"We ask people to use their common sense when they're decorating their house for Christmas," he said.

"Create a nice display, but don't point it into the sky where it could pose a risk."

On Dec. 14, a Jazz de Havilland DHC-8-400 en route from Yellowknife reported a possible strike from a green laser while descending at 11,000 feet into Calgary. The pilots thought it might have come from a Christmas display.

A Calgary Flying Club Cessna 172N passed by the same area about five minutes later and also thought the beam was coming from a Christmas display.

A Jazz Airlines spokesperson declined to comment on the incident but said they"have established protocols in place for reporting such occurrences," and that they"take this type of activity very seriously."

Shooting a laser into a flight path is illegal in Canada and can result in up to five years in jail or a $100,000 fine.

Calgary Flying Club instructor Colin Van Es said he recently flew over a decorated home that had laser beams shooting into the sky.

"It was almost like as if somebody took a light and just flashed it really quickly across our face," he said.

Van Es added it was temporarily blinding, making it an extremely dangerous situation.

"If it's interfering with the pilot, that causes us concern," he said."It's just really distracting for us. We're flying at night so we still need to have our night vision."

Products like the Star Shower Motion Laser also come with a warning printed on the packaging saying it is not to be pointed at airplanes.