Pope’s plane hit by a laser in Mexico City

Pilot flying the pope's plane was hit by a laser beam as the plane landed in Mexico City on Friday. (credit: ychamyuen)

Last Friday, a charter Alitalia plane carrying Pope Francis was struck by a laser beam as it came in to land at Mexico City International Airport. Although the pilot was able to land the Airbus A330-200 safely, he alerted air traffic control, which alerted local police, according to USA Today.

It's unclear whether the pope's flight was specifically targeted. ABC News noted that "several other pilots in the area also reported laser strikes.” It appears that no one was hurt.

Still, laser strikes have become more and more common over the last decade. In 2012, the FBI called laser strikes against airplanes an "epidemic," noting that reported strikes in the US went from 283 in 2005 to about 3,700 in 2012. According to USA Today the Federal Aviation Administration logged a record total of 7,153 laser strikes in the US in 2015 through December 11.

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