Re:I'm confused by the distance (Score 1)

The plane was evidently 10 miles out on approach so he would have been at about 3000 feet. A laser like he had would absolutely have the power to blind the pilots. They were far enough out on approach so they had time to recover but what if they were on short final/in the flair? I doubt this guy was a trying to bring the plane down, he just didn't realize the implications of his act.