Something that most people probably never consider is the effect that lights can have, not just on airplanes, but controllers too. LAX leads the nation in laser hits on aircraft (and the tower!), but last night we had a different problem: What appeared to be a small sun on short final for runway 25 left. I didn't hear any complaints from the pilots, but most of us in the tower cab were dazzled by this really bright light, reportedly on a soccer (football for those of you outside North America) field. The camera doesn't really do it justice, but compare against the landing lights of the departing aircraft on runway 25 right. It took about a half-dozen phone calls to airport operations and the sheriff department to get it turned off - and then about ten minutes later, it was back on again. It stayed on for another couple of hours before someone was finally able to do something about it - or maybe the practice just ended and the players went home. Tonight it wasn't so bad, so somebody must have gotten the word that they needed to make some adjustments.
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