Strait of Juan de Fuca laser incident
The Strait of Juan de Fuca laser incident occurred on 4 April 1997, when the Russian merchant ship Kapitan Man was anchored in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) due north of Port Angeles, Washington. Responding to a request based on previous suspicious activity of the ship, the Canadian Forces dispatched a CH-124 helicopter to fly by the ship and take photographs of the vessel and its abnormal aerial antenna structure which was indicative of a ship that may conduct ELINT or SIGINT activities.
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[edit] Helicopter Crew
On board the aircraft were U.S. Navy Lt. Jack Daly and Canadian Forces pilot Capt. Patrick Barnes. Lt. Daly was the Navy's foreign-intelligence liaison officer in Esquimalt, British Columbia, heading a joint U.S.-Canadian helicopter-surveillance operation against Russian, Chinese, and other spy ships operating in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which separates British Columbia from Washington state, and in Puget Sound, the site of major U.S. nuclear ballistic missile submarine and aircraft carrier bases.
[edit] Laser damage
While taking photographs of the ship and its bridge, Lt. Daly suddenly experienced intense pain in his right eye as well as temporary blindness. After examination, it was concluded that Daly suffered direct laser burns to his right eye, as well as other vision problems and severe headaches. Captain Barnes was also injured in a similar manner and was permanently grounded as a result of this incident. He has since lost all his flight qualifications. A USAMRD (United States Army Medical Research Department) analysis indicated that the crew was most likely hit with a Nd:YAG laser.
[edit] Kapitan Man Search
Shortly after the incident, Coast Guard teams were given two hours to search the vessel but did not locate a laser. Teams were not given full access to the ship, however, and the Clinton administration had warned the Russian government in advance the ship would be searched. [1]
[edit] Conspiracy theory
Lt. Daly and his peers are adamant to this day that a cover-up has been orchestrated by the State Department to avoid hindering international negotiations.
The ZM-87 Portable Laser Disturber has been suspected of being the weapon used.[citation needed]
[edit] Notes
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This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2009) |
- ^ "Navy Man Clinton Hung Out To Dry Gets His Day In Court". Papillonsartpalace.com. http://www.papillonsartpalace.com/navyman.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
[edit] References
- "More spy activities ignored?". Worldnetdaily.com. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15145. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
- William Knowles -- wk (at) c4i.org. "Russian merchant ships used in spying". C4I.org. http://www.c4i.org/rmss.html. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
- "Betrayal: How the Clinton ... - Google Books". Books.google.com. http://books.google.com/books?id=TrXU5XxmKP4C&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=%22kapitan+man%22+laser&source=web&ots=Bx1mC9-5X6&sig=E0HlpSC_VfAOzkSGsbc-EqZeT4M. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
- "Statement of Lt Daly". Fas.org. http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/congress/1999_h/99-02-11daly.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
- Waller, J. Michael (2001-05-21). "Cover-up Deepens | Insight on the News Newspaper | Find Articles at BNET". Findarticles.com. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_19_17/ai_75021628/pg_1. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
