To the idiots in Te Awamutu who thought it fun to shine a powerful blue laser at flight NZ5622 on its approach to Hamilton airport at 8.34 last night:
You may be surprised to learn that I would actually like to spend the rest of my life being able to see. And when I'm on an aircraft, I tend to feel slightly more secure if I know my pilots can see, too. Shining lasers at planes is not funny. You might think it's just a bit annoying to the pilots (ha ha!) – it is NOT. Would you take someone's car and drain out the brake fluid for a joke? Or drop a concrete block onto a car from a motorway overbridge? Or put a bomb on a bus? Or shine your laser into your own eyes (a word of advice – as much as I like the idea of you doing it, DON'T.) You may think I exaggerate – but if you tried the same laser game in Australia or the US you may end up being treated by the law in the same way as would someone who put a bomb on the plane. Clever? No.
You have been lucky in that I, and fellow passengers and the pilots as far as I know, are still able to see. Please take your laser, remove the battery, and hit it several times with a hammer. You might enjoy that just as much and it's a lot more productive.