San Diego-area airports logged roughly 430 reported laser strikes in 2025, more than any other U.S. metro area, putting the region in an unenviable national spotlight and keeping pilots on edge about handheld lasers near flight paths. Those local numbers sit inside a national picture of thousands of incidents and fresh federal data released this winter.
Federal totals and where California landed
Across the country, pilots reported about 11,000 laser strikes to the FAA in 2025, and federal officials say that total reflects a year-over-year dip even as the overall problem remains serious. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, California led all states with more than 1,300 reported incidents, a reminder that the risk tends to spike where dense populations and heavy aviation traffic overlap.
Here at home, KFMB/CBS 8 pored over the same FAA figures and found that San Diego airports topped the national list with roughly 430 reports in 2025. The count includes strikes reported to airport control towers and nearby terminal radar approach facilities, and it covers both San Diego International and the region’s general-aviation fields.
Why lasers are such a hazard here
Independent safety trackers and specialists point to a familiar mix of ingredients: inexpensive, higher-power green laser pointers are easy to buy online and show up brighter and more visible than older red versions, and scattered light bouncing off haze or low clouds can make that beam even more blinding in the cockpit. Those conditions, combined with what experts describe as a strong pilot reporting culture, help explain why incidents keep surfacing in the FAA data. Historic case lists and deeper analysis are collected at LaserPointerSafety.com.
Danger to crews and legal teeth
Pilots report that even a brief flash on approach or departure can momentarily wash out instruments or leave after-images, outcomes that can trigger go-arounds and complicate already tense situations such as bad weather or emergencies. Local reporting and data journalism have repeatedly stressed that the risk is not just theoretical, with coverage of national and regional trends, including work by KCRA, underscoring both the operational danger and the limited deterrent effect so far from fines and criminal cases.
Pointing a laser at an aircraft is a federal crime and can carry significant penalties, and recent local cases show prosecutors will move forward when investigators track down a suspect. Hoodline has previously detailed one San Diego conviction tied to a sheriff’s helicopter strike, in which a San Diego Man pleaded guilty after admitting to targeting the aircraft with a laser.
How to report a strike and what authorities say
Pilots and members of the public are urged to report laser strikes both to local law enforcement and through the FAA’s online reporting form, which captures details that can help investigators and police pinpoint where the beam originated. The FAA says it also conducts outreach and training with local, state and federal partners, using those reports to sharpen enforcement and raise awareness. The reporting form and instructions are available through the FAA…