{"id":149716,"date":"2026-07-14T01:08:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T19:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?p=149716"},"modified":"2026-07-13T23:53:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T18:23:27","slug":"man-jailed-for-18-months-after-laser-strike-on-delta-pilots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/man-jailed-for-18-months-after-laser-strike-on-delta-pilots\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Man Jailed for 18 Months After Laser Strike on Delta Air Lines Pilots"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ATLANTA-<\/strong> A federal court has sentenced a New York man to 18 months in prison for aiming a laser pointer at a Delta Air Lines (DL)<\/a> flight that was on final approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case involved flight DL2334<\/strong>, which was preparing to land at Buffalo (BUF) on the night of March 2, 2024, when the flight crew reported a laser strike from the ground below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"New
Photo: Cl\u00e9ment Alloing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Federal Sentence for Delta Air Lines Laser Strike<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Joseph L. Crapsi, a 31-year-old deaf man from Cheektowaga, New York, pleaded guilty to aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft, an offense under 18 U.S. Code \u00a7 39A. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo handed down the 18-month sentence late last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prosecution was brought by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles M. Kruly and Craig R. Gestring. The case followed a joint investigation by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Police Department and the FBI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PHOTO: JOHN SCHUTTE\/AFRL\/HE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How Investigators Traced the Laser<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The final approach path into Buffalo Niagara International Airport took the Delta jet close to Crapsi’s house in Cheektowaga, located just a few miles from the airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the incident, the pilot reported the laser strike to police. Officers then made enquiries in the area the flight crew had identified as the source of the beam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of Crapsi’s neighbors told officers they had seen a laser shining through his window on multiple occasions. According to PYOK<\/a>, the court ruled that the sighting of a laser shining into the sky was enough to meet the low legal standard of probable cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officers went to Crapsi’s address and were invited inside. They accompanied him to his bedroom, where they noticed a laser pointer in plain sight. The device was seized as evidence, and Crapsi was arrested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n