Strait of Juan de Fuca laser incident
On 4 April 1997, a
Background
Responding to a request based on previous suspicious activity of the Kapitan Man, the
On board the aircraft were
Laser damage
While taking photographs of the ship and its
In February 1999, Daly testified before the U.S. House Armed Services Committee about his experience.
Kapitan Man search
Shortly after the incident,
Lawsuit and Purple Heart request
In October 2002, Daly sued the Russian
In September 2004, the Chief of Naval Operations denied an Inspector General's recommendation that Daly be awarded the Purple Heart (for wounds sustained by opposing forces). Part of the CNO's rejection stated:
In summary, even assuming that the injuries were indeed caused by a laser aimed from the Russian-flagged merchant vessel Kapitan Man, there is no basis to declare that ship a hostile force or the incident a terrorist act.... [W]hile we regret any injuries Lt. Cmdr. Daly sustained while in service to his country, the facts of this case do not support an award of the Purple Heart.[8]
Clinical assessment
This article contains too many or overly lengthy quotations. (August 2014) |
The case was analyzed in the August 2004
The researchers[9] noted the photographer's (Daly's) case history:
A retina specialist found 3 tiny (10- to 20-μm)
Reiter syndrome), which can produce small RPE defects... No evidence of laser injury was found in the years after the incident by 17 other ophthalmologists, including 5 neuro-ophthalmalogists and 8 retina specialists. A trial was held five years after the incident in which the retina specialist who made the initial diagnosis steadfastly maintained all the photographer's symptoms were due to retinal laser injury. A jury ruled against the photographer's claim for damages against the ship's owner.
The Analysis section of the article stated:
A costly, time-consuming chain of events was precipitated by the initial retina specialist's (1) failure to attach significance to an association between the photographer's symptoms and his complex past medical history, (2) quick diagnosis of a laser injury, (3) subsequent attribution of the photographer's growing list of pains and visual complaints to a laser injury, and (4) diagnosis of laser exposure in the photographer's associate based on symptoms in the absence of retinal or angiographic abnormalities. As noted previously herein, the few tiny RPE defects on which the initial diagnosis was based are common. Even if these defects were due to threshold laser effects, they could not have caused the photographer's reported problems or millions of patients would be afflicted with similar problems after routine retinal laser surgery.… The patient had real complaints, but they were caused by preexisting autoimmune problems rather than by laser injury.[10]
See also
- ZM-87 Portable Laser Disturber
- Lasers and aviation safety
- Submarine incident off Kildin Island
- Submarine incident off Kola Peninsula
- Lady R incident
Notes
- ^ a b "Navy Officer Blames Russian Laser". AP News Archive. 12 February 1999. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
- ^ a b c "Statement of Lt. Daly". February 11, 1999 House Armed Services Committee transcript. Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
- ^ "Fearsome Weapons of Future Wars". ABC News 20/20. ABC News. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
- ^ "Navy Man Clinton Hung Out To Dry Gets His Day in Court". Papillonsartpalace.com. Archived from the original on 3 August 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
- ^ "Opening Statement". Retrieved 27 May 2013.
- ^ "Navy officer loses suit against Russians". The Washington Times. 19 October 2002. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
- ^ "Navy Man Loses Laser Lawsuit". AP News Archive. 21 October 2002. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
- ^ "Navy turns down appeal for award". The Washington Times. 23 September 2004. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
- ^ a b "ICNERP Members' Biographical Information". Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- PMID 15302664. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
References
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (March 2009) |
- William Knowles. "Russian merchant ships used in spying". C4I.org. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
- Gertz, Bill (September 2001). Betrayal: How the Clinton ... – Google Books. ISBN 9780895261960. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
- Waller, J. Michael (21 May 2001). "Cover-up Deepens | Insight on the News Newspaper | Find Articles at BNET". Findarticles.com. Retrieved 7 July 2010.