When the cockpit of a Southwest Airlines jet was flooded with light on approach to Love Field in Dallas this past Sunday night, the captain was startled enough to report a laser strike to the control tower.
Turns out the beams were not the work of another obnoxious kid with a laser pointer, but search lights installed on the roof of the Bombshells Nude Cabaret to attract customers.
Laser strikes are, of course, dangerous. FAA representative Lynn Lunsford told myfoxdfw.com, “You have the potential of causing the pilot a problem. In fact, there have been occasions where the pilot, who was landed the aircraft, got hit by a laser and the co-pilot ended up having to complete the landing.”
The plane was at around 1,000 feet and about two miles northwest of the runway at the time, around the same distance as Bombshells. The flight landed safely and the crew was not injured by the lights.
The club has promised to keep the lights turned off until the FAA says it is safe to do so.