![](https://flightsafety.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/aviationmedicine_nov17_featured-1.jpg)
Pilots and regulators report a worsening problem with lasers being pointed at aircraft. In the United States alone, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says the number of reported laser illuminations of aircraft each year has nearly doubled since 2020. According to FAA statistics, there were 13,304 laser illuminations reported in 2023. That’s a sharp jump from the 9,457 reported in 2022 and the 6,852 reported in 2020.