(CNN) -- A 14-year-old was arrested late Tuesday after shining a powerful laser light into the eyes of a pilot who was approaching Los Angeles International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The arrest puts a spotlight on what the FAA calls a dangerous problem in recent years.
In Tuesday's case, the pilot was about 2,000 feet in the air and nobody was hurt in the incident, said Ian Gregor, an FAA spokesman.
"It's potentially very dangerous to shine a laser at an aircraft because a laser can distract a pilot and there have been cases where pilots have suffered temporary vision problems as a result of being struck by a laser beam," Gregor said. " We've had reports of pilots having to turn over control of the aircraft to a co-pilot or had to abort landing."
Gregor said Los Angeles International Airport has had many instances of laser attacks.
"Pilots reported 102 laser incidents around LAX in 2010. Most of any airport in the country," Gregor said.
From Nick Valencia, CNN
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