But officials say the availability of the devices in an oceanfront air corridor used by military craft, banner planes, and commercial airliners has led to dangerous situations in which lasers have been pointed at cockpits, causing aborted missions and potential pilot blindness.

Prompted by a recent incident involving a Coast Guard helicopter, Ocean City is considering a ban on the pointers, said City Council President Michael Allegretto, terming it a public-safety issue.

After seeing some Ocean City merchants ignore voluntary requests to stop selling laser pointers, City Council moved Thursday to ban the sale of some versions of the devices.

If any aircrew member’s vision is compromised during a flight, Coast Guard flight rules dictate that the aircraft must abort their mission. Laser pointers can cause the pilot to see a glare, afterimage, have flash blindness or can even cause temporary loss of night vision.

Additionally, aircrew members are taken off flight duty for a minimum of 24 hours and must have their eyes dilated and be cleared by a doctor before flying again. This temporary loss of crew has the potential to significantly affect the unit’s abilities to conduct search and rescue, training and homeland security missions.

The Food and Drug Administration regulates the manufacture of laser products and according to an FDA Consumer Safety Alert, overpowered green laser pointers may have been modified to emit more radiation than originally intended. These overpowered green laser pointers are a serious concern because they can cause permanent eye damage.