Aim at cats, not airplanes. (Via Shutterstock)

The FBI recently launched a task force with the coolest name ever, thought it aims to cut back on a problem the bureau says is only growing more severe. The Laser Strike Working Group National Initiative was assembled to reduce the number of “laser attacks” against airplanes.

Specifically, the task force is going after people who like to aim their laser pointers at nearby aircraft. While it might be a fun game for those on the ground, directing handheld lasers at planes while they are in flight is extremely dangerous, the FBI says:

These incidents are dangerous to pilots in the cockpit, passengers aboard the plane, and people on the ground. Captain Robert Hamilton of the Air Line Pilots Association, International was landing a plane when he was struck by a laser light. “I had temporary blindness. My eyes were burning. It caused disorientation, and it was distracting,” he says.

The bureau also says the United States is suffering from a rampant increase in the number of lasers directed at airplanes. It expects some 3,700 incidents this year, up from 283 in 2005. The FBI expects there are thousands more incidents that go unreported, suggesting that instead of using laser-emitting devices as intended—PowerPoint presentations and distracting cats—more and more Americans are aiming them toward the skies. That’s bad.

Again, while it might seem like fun to point a laser at an airplane, it’s also really, really illegal. One federal statute makes aiming lasers at planes punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of as much as $11,000. Ever harsher, interference with the operation of an aircraft can be dealt with by up to 20 years in jail and a $250,000 fine.

We at DCist are sympathetic to the FBI’s cause in this situation. No one wants to be in an airplane while the pilot is temporarily blinded because some stupid kid found his dad’s laser pointer. But lasers are awesome. So here is an instructional video on how to properly use a laser pointer: