# Has anyone ever been killed, directly, by a laser? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 1, 2015, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663 "2015-01-01T04:10:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/21 "2015-01-01T20:08:58Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > I saw a clip of an experimental ship-mounted laser the other day. It was capable of vaporizing targets at quite a distance. I assume it would do some serious damage to a human body. A \*nuclear-powered \* laser, no less. surely that’s cooler than some frickin’ shark with a laser. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/22 "2015-01-02T02:09:04Z")
[Navy: New laser weapon works, ready for action](http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/11/tech/innovation/navy-laser-weapon/) > [@](#): > > the laser performed so well that the commander of the Ponce is now authorized to use it in defense of the vessel > [@](#): > > The laser could be used to stop threats ranging from drones and helicopters to small patrol boats If nobody has yet been killed by a laser, it is just a matter of time. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/23 "2015-01-02T02:29:31Z")
Would it count for purposes of this thread if the laser damaged an aircraft to the point where it crashed, and the pilot died due to the crash? ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/24 "2015-01-02T03:50:35Z")
No, I meant direct trauma from the beam itself. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/25 "2015-01-02T04:06:48Z")
> [@Unpronounceable](#): > > The most common risk from using a laser during surgery that I’ve heard of is _explosions_, usually when working on the intestines. Methane, you know. Never heard of a fatality, though. Many years ago, I remember an anesthesiologist telling me about an accident in which a laser ignited the anesthetic gas and killed the patient. I tried looking for a cite and found many references to [surgical fires](http://www.mdsr.ecri.org/summary/detail.aspx?doc_id=8197). ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/26 "2015-01-03T10:06:13Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I’m quite clueless…and not to be morbid, but what happened? What happens if you remove the cover from the laser’s power supply? It blows up? The power supply generated very high voltage across a bunch of capacitors. The energy in the capacitors was huge… If he thought it was just like static electricity … well these capacitors are designed to be large… using special materials in between very thinly separated sheets, that are rolled up for convenience,giving a large surface area… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/27 "2015-01-04T16:21:14Z")
I have heard of accidental blindings by laser. I have managed to burn myself with a laser. But I’ve never heard of anyone actually being killed by one. In the early years, the running joke was that easiest way to hurt someone with a laser was to drop one on them (a testament not only to how long it would take to do damage, but also the sizes of some of the early high-power lasers). Nevertheless, it has certainly been _possible_ to kill someone with a laser from pretty close to the beginning – only it would have to be a determined, premeditated event, _a la_ Auric Goldfinger strapping Bond down and pointing an Industrial laser at him\* in **Goldfinger**. For all I know, some sadistic individual might actually have done that, maybe someone in some foreign government (or, Og knows, maybe our own). But if so, I haven’t heard about it. Nevertheless, the sight of chips taken out of the cinder block wall of the lab by the mode-locked Q-switched Nd:YAG laser in my grad school convinces me that we had the capability a long time ago. For what it’s worth, there are YouTube videos of people killing flies and mosquitos with lasers [https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;\_ylt=A2KLqIBkZ6lU\_CAAzJP7w8QF;\_ylu=X3oDMTByZWc0dGJtBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMQ--?p=killing+flies+with+laser&vid=54cb8ce995a10ead3f583137a293ad24&l=2%3A50&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVN.608000458513777042%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D8zdV3oOUvEg&tit=My+\Laser+\<%2Fb\>Buring+Fly&c=0&sigr=11bmp9mvi&sigt=10q1bi97b&age=100761625314&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asa&&tt=b](https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIBkZ6lU_CAAzJP7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTByZWc0dGJtBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMQ--?p=killing+flies+with+laser&vid=54cb8ce995a10ead3f583137a293ad24&l=2%3A50&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVN.608000458513777042%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D8zdV3oOUvEg&tit=My+%3Cb%3ELaser+%3C%2Fb%3EBuring+Fly&c=0&sigr=11bmp9mvi&sigt=10q1bi97b&age=100761625314&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asa&&tt=b) [https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;\_ylt=A2KLqIBkZ6lU\_CAAzZP7w8QF;\_ylu=X3oDMTByZ2N0cmxpBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMg--?p=killing+flies+with+laser&vid=123610b2088bea7894859157748e5935&l=2%3A22&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVN.608009770004645169%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DBKm8FolQ7jw&tit=New+\Laser+\<%2Fb\>Zaps+Mosquitoes+in+SlowMotion&c=1&sigr=11bht1hq1&sigt=11ejpl4mf&age=0&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asa&&tt=b](https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIBkZ6lU_CAAzZP7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTByZ2N0cmxpBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMg--?p=killing+flies+with+laser&vid=123610b2088bea7894859157748e5935&l=2%3A22&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVN.608009770004645169%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DBKm8FolQ7jw&tit=New+%3Cb%3ELaser+%3C%2Fb%3EZaps+Mosquitoes+in+SlowMotion&c=1&sigr=11bht1hq1&sigt=11ejpl4mf&age=0&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asa&&tt=b) [https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;\_ylt=A2KLqIMAaKlUViUA8DP7w8QF;\_ylu=X3oDMTByZWc0dGJtBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMQ--?p=killing+mice+with+laser&vid=292be06f5efd88bcb51df55b62f1010f&l=1%3A02&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVN.608018931159597614%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dw-R37G11iWk&tit=Burning+\laser+\<%2Fb\>kills+a+roach&c=0&sigr=11b4cuoit&sigt=112tlllg1&age=0&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asa&&tt=b](https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIMAaKlUViUA8DP7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTByZWc0dGJtBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMQ--?p=killing+mice+with+laser&vid=292be06f5efd88bcb51df55b62f1010f&l=1%3A02&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVN.608018931159597614%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dw-R37G11iWk&tit=Burning+%3Cb%3Elaser+%3C%2Fb%3Ekills+a+roach&c=0&sigr=11b4cuoit&sigt=112tlllg1&age=0&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asa&&tt=b) [https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;\_ylt=A2KLqIMAaKlUViUA.jP7w8QF;\_ylu=X3oDMTBzc2M2MjdyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMTE-?p=killing+mice+with+laser&vid=cb09022dd1c85345dd220b5ba63d14ad&l=2%3A35&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVN.608051018859938236%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D8YGcVYaNxdo&tit=Red+\Laser+\<%2Fb\>Kills+Spider&c=10&sigr=11br5fd63&sigt=10tpj97vu&age=0&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asa&&tt=b](https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIMAaKlUViUA.jP7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTBzc2M2MjdyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMTE-?p=killing+mice+with+laser&vid=cb09022dd1c85345dd220b5ba63d14ad&l=2%3A35&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVN.608051018859938236%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D8YGcVYaNxdo&tit=Red+%3Cb%3ELaser+%3C%2Fb%3EKills+Spider&c=10&sigr=11br5fd63&sigt=10tpj97vu&age=0&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asa&&tt=b) Having watched films of surgical lasers cutting rapidly through tissue, I could see someone using a similar device to kill mice or guinea pigs, and wouldn’t be surprised to learn it has already been done. Here’s a video of a laser destroying a mouse: 😃 [https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;\_ylt=A2KLqIMAaKlUViUA8TP7w8QF;\_ylu=X3oDMTByZ2N0cmxpBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMg--?p=killing+mice+with+laser&vid=ff624adb71b6c3851e60dbcac461782c&l=00%3A45&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVN.608003276007014937%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DyXtZRVMbfp4&tit=\Killing+\<%2Fb\>a+real+mouse+\with+\<%2Fb\>a+\laser\<%2Fb\>!&c=1&sigr=11bifk2q0&sigt=11nuf55g9&age=0&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asa&&tt=b](https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIMAaKlUViUA8TP7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTByZ2N0cmxpBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMg--?p=killing+mice+with+laser&vid=ff624adb71b6c3851e60dbcac461782c&l=00%3A45&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVN.608003276007014937%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DyXtZRVMbfp4&tit=%3Cb%3EKilling+%3C%2Fb%3Ea+real+mouse+%3Cb%3Ewith+%3C%2Fb%3Ea+%3Cb%3Elaser%3C%2Fb%3E%21&c=1&sigr=11bifk2q0&sigt=11nuf55g9&age=0&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asa&&tt=b) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/28 "2015-01-04T16:38:01Z")
Okay – the US Armed Forces Institute of Pathology killed anaesthatised guinea pigs with lasers back in 1965-1968. They used ruby laser pointed at the heads to essential;ly blow up their brains. (The high pressure caused the brain tissdue to expand and in the confined skull, that crushed the brain. If they exposed yje brain by opening the skull they didn’t die. Not imeditely, anway). There are pictures [http://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC496284&blobtype=pdf](http://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC496284&blobtype=pdf) I suspect there have been other animal experiments since. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/29 "2015-01-04T22:17:04Z")
Do collimated microwaves count as a laser? The Active Denial System, in sort of service for a while now, is designed as non-lethal but it all depends on who’s firing it, I imagine. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/30 "2015-01-04T22:35:11Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Do collimated microwaves count as a laser? > > The Active Denial System, in sort of service for a while now, is designed as non-lethal but it all depends on who’s firing it, I imagine. No more than collimated light (like a searchlight) count as a laser.\* Microwaves in an oscillator amount to a MASER (Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation), the device which suggested both the LASER and its name/acronym. \*Although it must be admitted that cases od Amplified Spontaneous Emission, without a defining oscillator cavity, can produce pretty highly collimated beams, and that such devices have been colloquially called “Lasers”, even though, technically, they ain’t. Examples are most Nitrogen lasers and several proposed and realized X-ray lasers. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/31 "2015-01-05T14:13:40Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Yep. > > Laser power supplies are very dangerous. If you’re going to work on one you need to de-energize it, discharge it, _verify_ it is discharged, and _keep_ it discharged while working on it. This. Some lasers have high-voltage supply requirements, and some of them generate much higher voltages during normal operation and may store such high voltages using capacitors. Safe service practice involves disconnecting from wall voltage, and bridging high-voltage caps with [bleed resistors](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeder_resistor) until the service work is complete. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/32 "2015-01-05T17:57:14Z")
What about a jealous husband who murders his wife’s research partner because of all of the time they’re spending together at the laser energy laboratory? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/33 "2015-01-05T18:19:29Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > What about a jealous husband who murders his wife’s research partner because of all of the time they’re spending together at the laser energy laboratory? “Bob, I know you’ve been spending a lot of time with Mary, but could you do m a favor and stand right …here? Just for a moment.” ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/34 "2015-01-05T20:20:01Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > … > > Mosquitoes have been mercilessly slaughtered with 1920s style death rays (er, 2007 style lasers, actually). The laser in question has been dubbed the WMD (Weapon of Mosquito Destruction) and on a more serious note, it was designed to reduce the mosquito population to control the spread of malaria. After producing a hand-held device, the next generation laser mosquito killer was the Photonic Fence. Capable of killing 50 to 100 mosquitoes per second at a range of 100 feet, this weapon was nicknamed the Star Wars Mosquito Defense System. > > [Mosquito laser - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_laser) > > Sadly, these sci-fi high tech weapon systems have not had much success outside of the laboratory, due mostly to the fact that electrical power isn’t very reliable in parts of the world where malaria and mosquitoes tend to be most prevalent. > > Does anyone know of anything larger than a mosquito that has been killed by a laser, or is that our current record holder? But the laser does not kill the mosquito, just burning off their wings, sort of equivalent of blinding a person with laser. Yes they might die soon after due to a secondary reason (such as being eaten by a ground based insect or in the case of the person, getting hit by a bus) because of the damage caused by the laser, but it is not the laser that has caused death. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/35 "2015-01-05T21:37:29Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Would it count for purposes of this thread if the laser damaged an aircraft to the point where it crashed, and the pilot died due to the crash? Or if it blinded a pilot or driver and caused him to crash fatally? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/36 "2015-01-06T02:28:01Z")
This site surveys injuries due to lasers, and tantalizingly says > [@](#): > > Below is some information on deaths and injuries due to lasers, as well as due to other devices and activities. Long story short – no deaths due to lasers directly have been reported. [http://www.laserpointersafety.com/perspectives/risks/risks.html](http://www.laserpointersafety.com/perspectives/risks/risks.html) This site (reprinting a Safgety Sheet from U. Cal Irvine) bluntly states that > [@](#): > > The deaths associated with lasers have been electrocutions caused by electrical hazards such as improper grounding, uncovered or improperly insulated electrical terminals, and hidden “power on” warning lights. [https://www.ehs.uci.edu/programs/radiation/LASER%20SAFETY%20FACTSHEET.pdf](https://www.ehs.uci.edu/programs/radiation/LASER%20SAFETY%20FACTSHEET.pdf) This sheet from U. Texas similarly ststes that all laser fatalities have been due to non-beam circumstances (chemical injury, etc, as well as electrical): [https://www.utexas.edu/safety/ehs/lasers/Laser%20Safety%20Handbook-tnt.pdf](https://www.utexas.edu/safety/ehs/lasers/Laser%20Safety%20Handbook-tnt.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/37 "2015-01-06T16:06:39Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Sniper rifles often use laser sights to aid in aiming at their target; that may be the closest you can get… > [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Someone at my workplace was killed by a laser. But not by the beam…an engineer from the manufacturer showed up to fix it. According to one witness, he removed the cover from the laser’s power supply and stuck both hands inside power supply. Zap. Gone… I think the OP was pretty clear that he was asking about whether anyone was directly killed by a laser beam. In other words, whether anyone has ever been lasered to death, e.g. by being shot with a laser gun, by stepping directly into a laser beam, or something of that nature. The OP isn’t talking about being killed with a regular firearm after being targeted by a nonlethal laser, by being electrocuted trying to repair a laser, or dying of the blunt force trauma of a heavy laser falling on your head. > [@Chronos](#): > > Would it count for purposes of this thread if the laser damaged an aircraft to the point where it crashed, and the pilot died due to the crash? That’s actually quite interesting. In that case, the beam was a direct causative agent of the death, even though the death was actually caused in a medical sense by the crash. To make an analogy, what if someone’s leg was cut off by a laser and the person then bled to death? After all, ordinary bullets can kill this way… You get shot in the leg with a high-caliber rifle resulting in your leg being torn off by the sheer momentum of the bullet. You collapse on the field and die of blood loss. Did you die of a gunshot wound? I’d say yes, you did. OP, what do you think? Is dying because your plane was shot down by a laser within the scope? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/38 "2015-01-06T21:19:34Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Or if it blinded a pilot or driver and caused him to crash fatally? That was a plot point in a Tom Cruise novel awhile back, when an AWACS plane was catastrophically brought down while landing by blinding the flight crew with a laser from the ground. The FAA is worried about the rise in laser pointer/aircrew incidents: [https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/lasers/hazards/](https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/lasers/hazards/) ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/39 "2015-01-06T22:00:20Z")
The OP later chimed in to say: “I meant direct trauma from the beam itself.” Blinding doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/40 "2015-01-06T22:22:33Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > That was a plot point in a Tom Cruise novel awhile back, when an AWACS plane was catastrophically brought down while landing by blinding the flight crew with a laser from the ground. Tom Clancy _Debt of Honor_ or possibly _The Bear and the Dragon_ To make matters messier they arranged for the manufacturer to release a warning about a problem with the automatic landing systems and advising everyone using that model of plane to land manually until the problem could be resolved. So the pilots were landing under manual control of the airplane and were both blinded. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663.md?page=3)