Tim Douglas-Clifford and his rescue team are among the many crew targeted by malicious, drunk, or ignorant laser owners.

Rescue helicopters are among aircraft being targeted by laser strikes, sparking calls for tough punishments.

Figures show pilots and medical staff in New Zealand have been blinded up to 100 times a year, jeopardising passenger flights and rescue missions.

The Air Force, police, and commercial airline companies have also reported laser attacks, with crew and even medical staff experiencing "flash blindness".

MONIQUE FORD/FAIRFAX NZ Green lasers are also used in astronomy and entertainment.

"You don't see it coming. It's an instant flash," rescue pilot Tim Douglas-Clifford said.

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* Laser pointers targeted

* Pilots dazzled by laser pointers

A laser hit his Nelson-Marlborough Rescue Helicopter team a few years ago.

MEGHAN LAWRENCE/FAIRFAX NZ The Police Eagle helicopter has been targeted repeatedly.

He had goggles on then, but for a colleague who didn't, the attack was painful.

Douglas-Clifford said the chopper had police and a thermal imaging camera on board, and the culprit was found, but avoided jail.

New Civil Aviation Authority data showed a 2014 law change aimed at clamping down on high-power lasers had not yet been effective, with a minor increase in reported attacks last year.

DEREK FLYNN/FAIRFAX NZ Associate Transport Minister Craig Foss says it's soon to say if the laser law needs changes.

Airline pilots' union NZALPA said laser attacks were "extremely dangerous" but perpetrators often seemed to get little or no punishment.

Incidents usually happened at "critical" approach and landing times, said Dave Reynolds, former British Airways pilot and NZALPA senior technical officer.

Laser attacks could cause "flash blindness" and some crew could also have permanently damaged retinas, he said.

Attacks on low-flying or single-pilot aircraft were especially dangerous.

"If you're a helicopter at a low level, you're in a pretty bad place.

"It is an issue which, despite our best efforts, is not going away."

Reynolds, like Garden City Rescue Helicopter's Stu Farquhar, believed drunkenness, ignorance and malice were to blame for most attacks.

Farquhar and his rescue team were also targeted on a mission once.

The team were furious but continued their mission.

"If we hadn't been on our way to a job, we would have landed at the house and got the guy."

CAA spokesman Mike Richards said large and medium-sized passenger aircraft were the most commonly targeted.

This meant laser strikes could "cause an extremely high level of public harm" in an accident.

"At these low-level, high-workload flight phases, the consequences of any temporary pilot-impairment or distraction are potentially disastrous," he said.

The CAA data showed 489 laser strikes were reported in New Zealand in the five years starting on January 1, 2011.

The 2014 law change limited the supply of laser pointers with an output of more than one milliwatt.

​Green lasers were used in most laser attack incidents.

Ross Fitzgerald from ledbulbs.co.nz said most lasers he sold were for astronomers, to point out planets and stars.

Land search and rescue teams, birdwatchers and teachers also used lasers.

"I can't understand what drives someone to point a laser at an aircraft," Fitzgerald said.

A New Zealand Defence Force spokeswoman said laser pointing was "a negligent act and also puts the lives of others at serious risk."

Chief District Court Judge Jan-Marie Doogue said it was hard to comment on punishments without more details on charges brought, convictions and sentences imposed.

Judges could only impose sentences in accordance with parameters legislation set down.

The responsible minister, Craig Foss​, said there'd been 45 reported incidents so far this year.

"We need to give the law time to bed-in before considering whether any further changes are necessary."

Possessing a high-power laser pointer without reasonable excuse can result in three months' jail or a $2000 fine. Endangering people or an aircraft carries more severe penalties.

In Christchurch last month, builder Tane Hemopo faced two charges of reckless disregard for the safety of 121 people on a plane and others in a control tower he targeted.

Those charges reportedly carried a maximum of 14 years' jail time. Hemopo will reappear in Christchurch District Court on May 17.

MAJOR INCIDENTS

May 2011: Green laser repeatedly hit the Police Eagle helicopter in Auckland. Two people were arrested.

May 2012: A helicopter was targeted with a green laser while approaching Waikato Hospital.

Feb 2013: Two crew and a medical officer suffered vision impairment in a New Plymouth laser attack.

April 2013: Laser was pointed at a military helicopter operating at Whenuapai, Auckland.

Dec 2013: Eagle helicopter hit again with a green laser.

July 2014: A laser strike into a flight deck blinded both pilots of an Airbus approaching Auckland.

Feb 2015: Green and red laser allegedly pointed at Christchurch air traffic control tower for 5-8 minutes.

LASER STRIKES BY YEAR:

2011: 92

2012: 99

2013: 110

2014: 92

2015: 96

(Source: Civil Aviation Authority. Excludes attacks on NZ aircraft abroad.)