CLAUDIO CRUZ/AFP via Getty Images
- Dozens of people shone laser pointers at a passenger jet flying over a fireworks festival in Mexico.
- A video of the incident on TikTok was viewed over 30 million times.
- Shining a laser at an aircraft is illegal in most countries, and punishable by five years in prison in the US.
Shocking footage from a festival in Mexico shows dozens of people shining laser pointers at a passenger jet flying overhead.
The National Pyrotechnic Festival in Tultepec, just north of Mexico City, attracts around 100,000 revelers every year. It lasts for seven days, with the main event taking place on March 8.
A video posted on TikTok shows a plane flying over the festival with two green laser beams pointing at it. More people join in until about a dozen are shining at the jet. A drone is then seen almost completely obscured by dozens of lasers.
The plane appeared to be on approach to landing at Felipe Ángeles International Airport, the Mexican capital's secondary airport. It isn't clear which airline was operating it.
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"When a plane passed by and everyone pointed their laser at it," the caption reads.
The most-liked comment on the video, which has been seen over 30 million times on the app, says: "It's amazing how stupid they are."
Several other comments question the legality of the act.
Pointing a laser at an aircraft is against the law in Mexico, as in most countries. In 2016, another incident made international news after a laser was shone near an Airbus A330 transporting the Pope to Mexico City, The Guardian reported.
In the US, laser incidents have soared in recent years. The Federal Aviation Administration said it received a record 13,000 reports last year from pilots about laser strikes — a 41% increase from 2022.
The regulator also issued a reminder on X about such incidents: "Shining lasers at airplanes and helicopters puts lives at risk. Laser strikes are also a federal crime."
That came after a 29-year-old man was charged with aiming a laser pointer at a Delta Air Lines jet near Buffalo, New York.
Joseph Crapsi could face five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if he's found guilty.