ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – The pilot of a Swiss flight from Zurich to Brazil (date unknown) was temporarily blinded recently by a laser, shot from the ground, when his plane was already at high altitude over Lucerne, 20 Minutes reported, with the information confirmed by Lucerne police. A man with a laser pointer was arrested, then released, in Beromünster, near Lucerne.

This is the 40th incident this year, but it’s unusual because most laser attacks occur during takeoff.

The number of incidents appears to be falling, reports news agency ats, with the Federal Aviation Office showing 100 incidents in 2012, 13r in 2011 and 145 in 2010.