MADISON, Wis. – A Minnesota man was sentenced to prison for beaming a laser at an airliner approaching MSP, interrupting the plane’s communication system and damaging the pilot’s sight. Nicholas James Link, 43, of Rochester, will have two years in a cell to consider what he did. Link had pleaded guilty January. Federal Judge William Conley issued the sentence. The attack was from west of River Falls, Wisconsin — 38 miles short of MSP runways. Prosecutors during hearings had not attempted to link the laser attack to similar attacks on MSP-bound airplanes near Kenyon and Elba, Minnesota – both within 30 miles of Rochester., where link lives. River Falls, from where the Wisconsin attack occurred, is 70 miles from Rochester.
No-nonsense judge
At sentencing Judge Conley discounted Link’s argument that it was not commonly known that aiming a laser at aircraft was dangerous. The judge said that such incidents are frequently reported in the news and the danger is commonly known. The judge also mentioned that Link shined and strobed a handheld flashlight in the eyes of an officer during an arrest in 2017. The judge said too that he mindful that Link’s criminal record included numerous domestic assaults.
Airbus 319
The Delta configuration of its A319s has 132 seats. There are five crew members. Flight 2158 was nonstop to MSP from Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. The captain has been a commercial airline pilot 28 years with 25,000 flight hours.
Detailing the strikes
Timothy O’Shea, U.S. attorney, gave this account of the October 29, 2021, attack, which was from the ground near River Falls:
> An Airbus A319, flown by Delta Airlines, was at 9,000 feet on a landing path to the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport.
> Just west of River Falls the plane was hit by blue laser beams. The cockpit lit up three times. The “sheer brightness” was like “suddenly turning on all the lights in a dark room.,” the pilot said.
> The strikes caused a major distraction in the cockpit. Neither the captain nor first officer was able to see instruments to respond to ground-control instructions to change runways.
> Eventually the pilots were able to reprogram a new approach and land safely.
> The captain’s vision in his right eye was affected several hours. The first officer did not suffer any disruption to his vision.
> Air traffic controllers at MSP called the Minnesota State Patrol, which flew an aircraft to River Falls to investigate.
> The State Patrol pilot circled the area at 3,500 feet. Their aircraft was also struck by a blue laser.
> Using the aircraft’s surveillance equipment, the State Patrol crew identified the coordinates of the beam’s source and called local authorities, all the while circling to maintain visual contact on the source of the attack.
> Police officers on the ground found Nicola James Link, who was at that time shining the laser at a drone. He then aimed again at the Minnesota State Patrol aircraft.