Chez Chesler

A local man is facing charges for pointing a laser at a state police helicopter that was guarding one of the Liquified Natural Gas tankers. Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Robert Bousquet said "the light never interfered with the pilots’ vision, nor is there any link to a terrorist threat" explaining that the big search was because "the possibilities for criminal intent are broad when a pilot is facing down a laser beam." The possibilities are broad, and no more likely, when the pilot is not facing down a laser beam. He was quoted in the Herald today as saying "“As you can imagine, there are concerns when a laser hits an aircraft like this because you don’t know what is on the other end of it." I would imagine that at the other end of the laser beam is a laser. The articles say that illuminating an aircraft is a federal offense. Anybody have a citation? I'd like to know the elements of that crime, because I have an upward-facing light to illuminate my flag pole, in accordance with the US Flag Code, and it's conceivable some photons from that light could reach an aircraft. How about to the "Title 18 Section 1001 of the PATRIOT act about pseudoephidrene?