There have been some tense moments in the skies recently, as a passenger jet approaching LaGuardia Airport had to make a sudden maneuver to avoid colliding with a drone, and five commercial airline pilots reported that green lasers were pointed at their planes. Michael Scotto filed the following report.

Four minutes after American Airlines Flight 185 took off from Kennedy Airport on Thursday night, the pilot contacted air traffic control.

"We just had a laser strike, left side," the pilot said.

In all, five planes were struck by green lasers in 30 minutes over New York and New Jersey Thursday night, prompting a warning from air traffic control.

"I believe you've been listening to the conversation. Be careful. You're in the vicinity of two laser strike incidents," air traffic control said.

"To try to impede a pilot flying a commercial flight with lots of people on it with a laser is reckless, dangerous behavior," said Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.

Officials believe four of the laser strikes came from Bethpage State Park on Long Island.

The green laser light is considered especially dangerous because it can travel for miles and temporarily blind a pilot.

On Friday, Sen. Charles Schumer called for the government to ban the devices.

"Unless we do something, there's going to be something very serious and very bad that happens with these green lasers," Schumer said.

The laser strikes are becoming more common. In all of last year, there were 88 laser strikes of planes in the region. So far this year, there have been at least 65 laser strikes.

Hours after the laser incidents, another jet and its passengers faced potential danger. A plane approaching LaGuardia Airport had to take dramatic action, pulling up 200 feet to avoid hitting an unmanned drone.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the drone may have been launched in the vicinity of Prospect Park in Brooklyn. It was flying at 2,700 feet and too close to an airport, both violations of FAA rules.

Schumer said the incident should be a wake-up call for stricter limits on drone use.

"Every drone that's sold in the United States, whether it's made here or abroad, can have built into the drone itself a mechanism that doesn't let it fly in certain places," Schumer said.

Aviation experts say they agree the government should take action on both lasers and drones to prevent a potential catastrophe.