A 51-year-old Molalla man was sentenced Friday to six months of federal supervised release after admitting he aimed a blue laser and a handheld spotlight at an Oregon Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopter flying a training mission over his property in July 2024. Patrick Yeager Snell pleaded guilty in June to a federal felony charge of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft, telling investigators he had grown irritated by helicopters flying back and forth over his land.
According to The Oregonian/OregonLive, the helicopter was flying at about 1,000 to 2,000 feet near Mulino State Airport, roughly 23 miles south of Portland, when Snell aimed the laser at the cockpit on July 1, 2024. The crew chief aboard the aircraft used its onboard GPS to pinpoint the address where the beam originated, and law enforcement responded to that location, where police later confiscated the laser pointer.
Snell admitted he used the laser pointer and told police he had asked another area resident to buy it for him, per the same account. He said he acted out of emotion and frustration, later telling the court, “I do feel bad, and I was wrong,” and adding that he “had no intent of harming anybody at any time.”
Prosecutors Warned of Catastrophic Risk
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Keefer said Snell's actions could have been extremely catastrophic, arguing that shining the laser put the helicopter crew and people on the ground at serious risk. A laser beam directed into a cockpit can cause temporary blindness, impaired pilot vision, and disorientation during flight, hazards the Federal Aviation Administration has illustrated in a video showing what pilots see when a laser strikes their windshield.
Snell's attorney, Ellie Riegel, told the court her client had been sufficiently deterred by his arrest and federal prosecution. The Oregon Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 189th Aviation Regiment, which operates HH-60M Black Hawk helicopters out of Salem, frequently stages aircraft at facilities such as Mulino State Airport during training flights, search-and-rescue missions, and wildfire response, according to Coffee or Die. The airfield, which features a 3,425-foot asphalt runway, underwent state- and federally funded upgrades in 2026, including a new T-hangar building and improved water lines for fire suppression, per the Oregon Department of Aviation.
A Felony With Steep Federal Penalties
Aiming a laser at an aircraft or its flight path has been a distinct federal felony since 2012 under 18 U.S.C. § 39A, carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison and fines up to $250,000, according to Cornell Law School. Separate from any criminal sentence, the Federal Aviation Administration can also levy administrative civil penalties of up to $11,000 per violation, and as much as $30,800 for people involved in multiple laser strikes.
Despite avoiding prison, Snell's case fits a pattern of federal prosecutions in Oregon targeting people who point lasers at military, federal, and commercial aircraft. In October 2025, federal prosecutors in Portland charged a man with aiming a laser at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter after its onboard mapping system traced the beam to a residence. And in May 2026, an Aloha man pleaded guilty to lasering a federal chopper near Hillsboro Airport, an incident that forced the flight crew to abort its landing. A decade earlier, in March 2015, a federal judge in Portland sentenced a 41-year-old resident to six months in prison for aiming a laser at commercial airliners approaching Portland International Airport.
National Numbers Still High Despite Decline
Pilots nationwide reported 10,994 laser strikes to the FAA in 2025, a 14 percent drop from the 12,840 incidents logged in 2024, though officials note the totals remain historically elevated. Since the agency began tracking the data in 2010, flight crews have reported 337 eye injuries tied to laser illumination. Neighboring Washington state logged 484 laser strikes in 2025, ranking sixth highest nationwide, following a cluster of more than 430 incidents between March 2024 and May 2025 that prompted the FBI to offer a $10,000 reward for information.
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