It is a federal crime, as well as violation of most states' laws to aim a laser pointer at an aircraft.  If an individual is caught purposefully lasing an aircraft, punishment ranges from being arrested or having to pay a civil penalty of $11,000 for a single offense, to more than $30,000 if the individual has multiple offenses.

In Hawaii, it's against the law to sell a laser pointer to a minor, or to point one directly or indirectly at someone's eyes. Violators can be fined not less than $100, and not more than $500.

People witnessing this crime are strongly encouraged to immediately call 911 to report the incident.  The FAA tracks laser incidents by city, state and nationality and initiated about 95 civil penalty cases in 2011 nationwide.

In 2012, pilots in Hawaii reported 46 laser incidents, 31 of those in Oahu airspace. As of Feb. 4 of this year, there have been 10 reports of lasers shined at aircraft, four of them on Oahu.

Nationally, the number of lasers targeting aircraft has skyrocketed in the past seven years. There were 283 incidents reported in 2005, but as of last year, that number grew to 3,482.

Pilots wishing to report a laser incident can go to the following FAA website: http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/safety/report/laserinfo/