NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The FBI and other federal officials are investigating an incident Sunday in which a laser beam hit an airline jet as it was leaving Nashville International Airport bound for Chicago.
The Transportation Security Administration and the FBI said United Airlines Flight 7136 from Nashville to Chicago was flashed by a laser while it was at about 3,000 feet. An FBI spokesman said the flight landed safely in Chicago.
The spokesman said the FBI was working the case along with the Federal Aviation Administration and the TSA.
The incident was the latest in a string involving laser beams aimed at aircraft across the country. Federal agents are looking into similar incidents involving lasers and aircraft, including cases in Cleveland, Washington, Houston, Colorado Springs, Colo., Medford, Ore., and New Jersey.
In the northern New Jersey case, the pilot of a corporate jet first reported seeing green lasers on Wednesday as he came in to Teterboro Airport for landing. A police helicopter for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey flew over the area Friday to investigate, and also saw the lasers.
Laser beams can temporarily blind or disorient pilots and possibly cause a plane to crash.
Federal law enforcement officials have said there is no evidence of a terrorist plot involving the laser beams, though last month the FBI and the Homeland Security Department sent a memo to law enforcement agencies saying there is evidence that terrorists have explored using lasers as weapons.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.