VS453 - Accident: Virgin Atlantic B789 at London on Mar 15th 2021

A Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787-9, registration G-VDIA performing flight VS-453 from London Heathrow,EN (UK) to Tel Aviv (Israel), departed Heathrow's runway 27L and was climbing out when a laser was pointed at the aircraft and hit the captain. The crew initially continued the flight. Enroute at FL410 over Paris (France) the crew however decided to return to London due to the captain being increasingly challenged. The crew declared PAN reporting the captain now could see with one eye only. The aircraft landed safely back on Heathrow's runway 27L about 75 minutes after departure.

The airline reported a laser beam from the ground was shone into the cockpit upon departure. The crew swiftly reported the laser occurrence to ATC and police. Later the crew needed to return to London. The flight was postponed to the following day.

Israeli media report, the perpetrator operating the laser was arrested.

A replacement Boeing 787-9 registration G-VAHH reached Tel Aviv as flight VS-453A the following day with a delay of 12.5 hours.