An unidentified person tried to blind the pilots of an A319 jet with a laser beam as they prepared to land at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport late Wednesday, RIA-Novosti reported.
The S7 flight from St. Petersburg was hit by a green beam coming from from Shakhovo village, some five kilometers away from the airport, the report said, citing a spokesman for the Federal Air Transportation Agency.
The beam missed the cockpit, and the pilots landed the jet safely.
It was unclear whether the incident — the third of its kind this month — was being investigated. Earlier in June, the pilots on two planes, both flying from Moscow, were temporarily blinded by laser beams on approach to the Rostov-on-Don airport. No suspects have been detained.
The air transportation agency has reported 30 similar incidents since the start of this year, a sharp increase from five in 2010. Most reports came from Rostov-on-Don and Moscow’s Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo airports.