The alleged “disturber” of military aircraft take-off and landing maneuvers at the Decimomannu air base has been identified.
He is a 52-year-old from Cagliari , suspected of having pointed a laser pointer at helicopters on at least fifteen occasions, thus creating dangers not only for the pilots, but also for air traffic.
The man - who risks having to answer for attempting to undermine transport safety and illegal possession of objects capable of causing offence - was identified by the men of the Carabinieri Military Police Company Command for the Air Force based in Decimomannu, in collaboration with their colleagues from the Monastir station.
The 52-year-old was tracked down after yet another disturbance (known as a “laser beam incident” ): a crew on board an aircraft from the Coast Guard’s 4th Helicopter Section was flying over the south-west outskirts of Monastir when they suddenly found themselves facing a beam of green light . The event – investigators explain – “did not cause any danger to traffic or air safety simply because there were two pilots on the helicopter and they were equipped with anti-blinding devices at the time” . This time, however, the military were able to figure out where the beam of light was coming from and immediately informed their colleagues on the ground, who were able to track down the 52-year-old, who was found in possession of a 15-centimetre-long cylindrical device capable of producing a green laser beam. The man was thus reported to the judicial authorities, while the pointer was seized.
It should be emphasized that the identification did not happen by chance : the military had been on the trail of the "troublemaker" for some time and had been trying to frame him for weeks, even deploying plainclothes personnel in the area from which it was assumed he was launching his "attacks".
In fact, during December 2024 and January 2025, fifteen crews of the flight departments that took off from the Decimomannu Air Base (Aircraft of the IFTS Flight School, Helicopters of the 80 CSAR and Helicopters of the 4th Helicopter Section of the Coast Guard) reported having been targeted by a green laser beam, coming precisely from the south-western outskirts of the town of Monastir.
Fortunately, the disturbances did not materialize «thanks – it is explained – to the professionalism of the flight crews of the Air Force and the Coast Guard, equipped with night vision goggles with anti-blinding devices and operating in crews of two pilots, one of whom can compensate, if necessary, for a possible temporary problem of the colleague, avoiding further dangers».
However, there remain potential, serious risks for both pilots (direct exposure of the pilot's eye to a laser beam could in fact cause temporary or even permanent damage to sight) and aircraft, as well as for the entire inhabited area in the vicinity of the air base.
(Unioneonline/lf)
