ST. CHARLES COUNTY • A 30-year-old St. Charles County man was arrested early Friday morning after a green laser was aimed at an airplane and then a police helicopter.

St. Charles County sheriff's Lt. Craig McGuire said the laser struck a plane near Highway 94 and Harvester Road about 12:45 a.m. He did not know what type of plane it was or where it was headed.

The laser then hit a Metro Air Support police helicopter, McGuire said. He said police found the man in his house with the active laser in his hand.

McGuire said the case was referred to the FBI. An FBI spokeswoman and officers from Metro Air Support declined to comment.

Police say lasers aimed at cockpits can be disorienting for the crew. The Federal Aviation Administration has said those who point lasers at aircraft can face civil fines of up to $11,000.

In July, an O'Fallon, Mo., man issued a public apology for pointing a laser at a police helicopter. Last month, authorities say a Frontier Airlines flight was flashed by a green laser near Wentzville as it approached Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. A police helicopter checked the area but found nothing.

The Federal Aviation Administration counted more than 2,800 such incidents nationwide in 2010, double those of the previous year and the highest since it started keeping track in 2005. The agency reported 17 incidents near Lambert last year, and three near Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield.

Last summer, the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department bought 10 pairs of special glasses for Metro Air Support designed to block most lasers while still allowing pilots to see their instruments in the dark. St. Charles County, St. Louis and St. Louis County operate the squadron.