Father-of-three is jailed for 32 months after shining £5 laser pen at holiday jet

Father-of-three, 54, is jailed for 32 months after shining a £5 laser pen at a holiday jet AND the police helicopter that came looking for him

  • Michael Bisgrove, 54, directed the green laser at a Beoing 737 in April last year 
  • Plane targeted at 2,500ft during its landing at Cardiff Airport from Gran Canaria
  • Newport Crown Court heard that the pen is capable of causing retinal damage 
  • Bisgrove admitted charges of shining laser beam towards aircraft and helicopter

A father-of-three has been jailed for shining a £5 laser pen at a holiday jet – and then at the police helicopter that came looking for him.

Michael Bisgrove, 54, directed the green laser at the Beoing 737 to dazzle the pilot and crew as they were flying back to Britain from the Canary Islands.

A court heard the TUI crew were targeted at 2,500ft as the plane came in to land at Cardiff Airport from Gran Canaria in April last year.

Newport Crown Court heard the pen (pictured) is capable of causing retinal damage. Bisgrove's 15cm-long laser pen, with a zoom and 5km range, cost £5 to buy online. It was seized and destroyed

Michael Bisgrove, 54, (left) admitted two charges of directing a laser beam towards an aircraft and helicopter. He was jailed for 32 months. Bisgrove’s 15cm-long laser pen (right), with a zoom and 5km range, cost £5 to buy online. It was seized and destroyed

When a police helicopter (pictured, stock image) searched for Bisgrove he shone the laser into the eyes of the three-man crew, putting their lives at risk

When a police helicopter (pictured, stock image) searched for Bisgrove he shone the laser into the eyes of the three-man crew, putting their lives at risk

Prosecutor Anthony Cheung said: ‘Captain Robin Small was flying the Boeing 737 when a laser beam was shone through the front window of the cockpit.

‘The dazzling light caused Captain Small and his crew difficulty when it shone into the cockpit for about a minute.’

When a police helicopter searched for Bisgrove he shone the laser into the eyes of the three-man crew, putting their lives at risk.

Newport Crown Court heard the pen is capable of causing retinal damage. 

It was aimed at the South Wales Police helicopter three times as it hovered at 1,000ft looking for him.

Judge Richard Williams said Bisgrove, of Boverton, near Llantwit Major, South Wales, could have caused a ‘catastrophe’.

A court heard the TUI crew (stock image) were targeted at 2,500ft as the plane came in to land at Cardiff Airport from Gran Canaria in April last year

A court heard the TUI crew (stock image) were targeted at 2,500ft as the plane came in to land at Cardiff Airport from Gran Canaria in April last year

Bisgrove’s 15cm-long laser pen, with a zoom and 5km range, cost £5 to buy online. It was seized and destroyed.

He admitted two charges of directing a laser beam towards an aircraft and helicopter. He was jailed for 32 months.

Adam Sharp, defending, said: ‘He doesn’t have any interest in aeronautics or aeroplanes, this was totally out of character.

‘His actions amount to complete stupidity rather than any intent to cause harm.’

A spokesman for TUI welcomed the jail sentence and praised the aircraft’s captain and crew for its handling of the situation.

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