By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- A Colorado State Patrol aircraft aborted its landing at Centennial Airport Aug. 19 after a green laser struck the cockpit during final approach.
- The crew circled to locate the source and was struck a second time before Trooper Clint Doren traced the beam to a second-story apartment balcony.
- Troopers contacted an adult and several juveniles at the apartment, seized the laser and referred the case to the Federal Aviation Administration.
- Similar laser activity had been reported in the same area on the three previous evenings.
- Aiming a laser at an aircraft is a class 6 felony in Colorado, punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a $100,000 fine, in addition to federal penalties.
DENVER — A Colorado State Patrol aircraft was forced to abort its landing at Centennial Airport last month after a green laser illuminated the cockpit during final approach, the agency said in a statement.
The plane was inbound around 8:45 p.m. Aug. 19 when the beam struck the aircraft. The crew aborted the landing and circled to locate the source, and the laser struck the aircraft again while they searched. Trooper Clint Doren, operating the onboard camera, traced the beam to a second-story balcony at a nearby apartment complex.
“A laser strike is not a harmless prank,” Doren said in the statement. “When a laser enters a cockpit, it can cause glare, flash blindness, disorientation, or permanent eye damage. During takeoff or landing, even a momentary loss of vision can place the flight crew, passengers and people on the ground in danger.”
Troopers from the Castle Rock office responded to the apartment and contacted an adult and several juveniles. They seized the laser and forwarded the case to the Federal Aviation Administration. The agency said similar laser activity had been reported in the same area over the three preceding evenings.
Aiming a laser at an aircraft became a class 6 felony under Colorado law in 2023, punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. It is also a federal crime carrying penalties of up to five years in prison, and the FAA can impose civil fines of up to $32,646.
Centennial Airport was the site of a more serious incident nine years earlier, when a Flight for Life helicopter was struck by a laser during a September 2017 approach, leaving a respiratory therapist aboard with permanent eye damage. Nationwide, pilots reported 10,993 laser strikes in 2025 and 12,840 in 2024, according to FAA data; the agency has recorded 337 reported injuries from laser strikes since it began tracking them in 2010.
The Colorado State Patrol is asking anyone who observes a person aiming a laser at an aircraft to contact local law enforcement.