NC man sentenced to probation for pointing laser at helicopter

A Concord man was sentenced to five years probation and 200 hours of community service on Wednesday after he was convicted of aiming a laser pointer at a helicopter that was attempting to land at Oak Island last year.

Christopher Lee Funk, 35, had pleaded guilty in May. A federal grand jury indicted Funk last fall on the charge of knowingly aiming the beam of light at the helicopter as it approached Cape Fear Regional Jetport shortly after midnight on May 6, 2014.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Raleigh, Funk aimed the laser at the helicopter and kept the beam on the cockpit as it descended from about 600 feet. When the laser hit the helicopter’s acrylic bubble windscreen, the beam refracted and lit up the cockpit with bright green light, making it difficult to see both inside and outside the cockpit, according to prosecutors.

The student pilot of the helicopter was able to land safely. When the student pilot and his instructor attempted to make another landing at the other end of the runway, Funk again aimed the laser at the helicopter, prosecutors say. The student again landed safely, and the instructor called police.

This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 1:59 PM with the headline "NC man sentenced to probation for pointing laser at helicopter."