The man whose "extraordinary" offending dazzled a flight crew with a laser pointer has pleaded guilty today to causing unnecessary danger.
Tane Hemopo, 39, a builder from Hornby, admitted two charges of endangering a New Zealand Post metro flight and a Virgin Airlines flight on April 5.
Hemopo pleaded to the charges at Christchurch District Court today after they were amended from more serious criminal offences, to those under the Civil Aviation Act.
At around 12.30pm on April 5 Hemopo pointed the laser pointer at the tail of a New Zealand Post Metro Liner.
A few minutes later, while a Virgin Airlines flight was at a height on 20,000-feet, the defendant pointed the laser pen into the cockpit, dazzling the crew.