“When aimed at an aircraft from the ground, the powerful beam of light from a handheld laser can travel more than a mile and illuminate a cockpit, disorienting and temporarily blinding pilots,” the Transportation Security Administration’s Web site says. “Those who have been subject to such attacks have described them as the equivalent of a camera flash going off in a pitch black car at night.”

That could be incredibly dangerous, especially when planes and helicopters are taking off or landing. “During critical phases of flight, particularly in hours of darkness when the eye is more sensitive to light sources, a laser strike in the cockpit can create a ‘startle response’ which negatively impacts pilot health and flight safety,” Capt. Joe DePete, first vice president of the Air Line Pilots Association told the Post.

But people can’t seem to stop doing it.