A security guard shone a laser pen at the cockpits of passenger planes and a police helicopter while bored on coffee breaks at work . Mark Savage , 27 , targeted aircrafts coming in to land at Southampton Airport but claims he was 'was just mucking around ' and 'was n't thinking ' . Twice he aimed the beam at passenger planes , one of which was carrying 28 people - but despite risking lives with his reckless behaviour , Savage , of Hampshire , walked free from court today . Spared jail : Mark Savage said he 'was just mucking around ' when he shone a laser pen into the cockpits of passenger planes and was spared a prison sentence after a judge heard how he had mental health problems . Sparing him jail , a judge warned how his actions could have caused a crash and stated he 'could not think of anything more dangerous ' to do . Recorder Michael Vere-Hodge QC made the decision after Southampton Crown Court heard how Savage had mental health problems . He shone a beam at a cockpit of a Bombardier Q400 plane on a flight from Jersey that was preparing to land at Southampton Airport just before 9pm on September 9 last year , the court heard . Prosecutor Edward Phillips told the court co-pilot Edward Jarman was reaching a critical point in the landing stage when he saw a light reflecting off the plane 's window . Dangerous : Savage aimed the laser beam at several aircrafts including a Flybe plane , which was carrying 28 passengers , forcing the captain to switch off his external lights to land . Mr Phillips said : 'Fortunately the light was n't in his eyes . He recognised the potential danger but was able to land the plane safely . ' A similar Flybe plane behind , captained by Matthew Donnellan , was carrying 28 passengers and three other crew members and was coming in from Paris , France . Mr Phillips said Captain Donnellan had previously suffered temporary blindness and disorientation after a beam had been shone into his eyes so was considerably concerned when he spotted the light from Savage 's pen . He made the decision to switch off his external lights , a call he would not usually make , but he considered it less of a risk than being blinded by the laser and was able to land safely . He shone a beam ( like the one pictured ) at a cockpit of a Bombardier Q400 plane on a flight from Jersey that was preparing to land at Southampton Airport . An image from a previous unrelated incident , in which a laser pen was shone at a helicopter , demonstrates the blinding effect the device can have on pilots . Mr Phillips said the matter was reported to police , who launched the force helicopter and found the source of light was coming from a compound near the Itchen Bridge in Southampton . The pen was discovered under a rock and Savage was arrested and taken to the police station where he admitted being responsible . Savage said he was 'just mucking around ' and 'was n't thinking ' and accepted shining it at four or five planes on coffee breaks . Savage , from Totton , Hants , admitted three charges of negligently acting in a manner likely to endanger aircraft . He received a six month suspended sentence with 12 months supervision . David Storry , defending , said his autism and lack of understanding of consequences explains why he shone the light at planes . He said : ' A reasonable person would know the potential consequences of what he was doing . He did n't think through the consequences of his actions and carried on doing it . Also targeted : A Hampshire Police helicopter ( like the one above ) was called out and officers traced the source of the light and were able to arrest Savage , who admitted responsibility . 'One of his problems is that he gets bored very easily , lacks concentration and acts impulsively . 'He fully understands the case against him . The difficulty is the lack of understanding of the implications of his actions . ' Urging the court to impose a suspended sentence , Mr Storry said : 'He is vulnerable and would n't take well to a prison regime . He would be a fish out of water . ' Recorder Vere-Hodge QC said : 'They were flying over urban areas and if the planes had crash landed , there would have a likely high level number of injuries and damage . ' I can not think of anything more dangerous in our modern world than shining a beam into the eyes of people flying aircraft . ' I hope you have got it into your head the amount of damage you nearly did and you will never , never put yourself into this kind of situation again . '
Mark Savage targeted aircrafts that were landing at Southampton Airport . One plane had 28 passengers and captain was forced to turn lights off . Security guard , six month , said he 'was just mucking around ' and 'was n't thinking ' Judge said he 'could n't think of anything more dangerous ' than what he did . But he spared Savage jail after hearing how he suffered from autism .