by Felix Richter, Statista.com
— this post authored by Niall McCarthy
There have been a number of high profile cases in recent times of lasers being pointed at aircraft cockpits, but just how prevalent are such attacks?
According to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, these potentially dangerous incidents happen alarmingly often. With a peak of almost two thousand reported in 2011, the total from 2009 to June 2015 was 8,977.
In response, pilots are calling for lasers to be categorised as offensive weapons in the UK to help police combat the perpetrators more effectively.
This graphic shows the number of laser incidents reported to the UK CAA from 2009 to 2015.
You will find more statistics at Statista.