MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Two cockpits were lit up over the weekend after lasers were pointed at the airplanes.
One incident was reported Saturday night shortly after American Airlines Flight 993 took off.
The Boeing 737 was headed to Nicaragua and was 8,000 feet in the air when the laser shined through the cockpit.
"It happens too often," former Federal Aviation Administration executive Stephen Lloyd said.
Lloyd is greatly aware of the dangers surrounding lasers.
"Whenever a laser illuminates the cockpit, they have all this green light or black light from their eyes and they can't focus and they can't see," Lloyd said. "Fortunately for them, they were at least at least 8,000 feet (up). If you get lower than that it becomes even more hazardous."
A second incident happened the same night to those inside a Cessna 172 out of Tamiami Airport.
The light illuminated the right side of the aircraft while the plane was only 1,500 feet in the air.
FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the FAA notified the Miami-Dade Police Department about the incidents and will investigate.