Two men arrested after drone flies ‘dangerously close’ to Boston’s Logan Airport, police say
By Eric Levenson, CNN
(CNN) — Two men were arrested Saturday night on trespassing charges after a drone came “dangerously close” to Logan International Airport in Boston, police said in a statement.
The incident began Saturday afternoon when a Boston police officer detected an “Unmanned Aircraft System,” or UAS, operating “dangerously close” to the airport, according to police.
The officer used advanced UAS monitoring technology to identify the drone’s location, flight history and its operators’ position on the largely uninhabited Boston Harbor Island known as Long Island, police said.
The Boston Police Harbor Patrol Unit was dispatched to the island and found three people inside the decommissioned Long Island Health Campus, police said. The suspects fled on foot, but two were captured and a drone was found inside one suspect’s backpack, according to police. The third person is believed to have fled in a small vessel, and the search is ongoing.
Robert Duffy, a 42-year-old of Charlestown, and Jeremy Folcik, a 32-year-old of Bridgewater, were arrested and face charges of trespassing, police said. Further fines and charges are possible. They are scheduled to be arraigned in Dorchester District Court, police said.
The arrests come amid heightened concerns about a series of drone sightings in the Northeast in recent weeks. Officials have urged calm and emphasized there is no evidence suggesting the sightings pose a security threat, but they have raised pressure on federal agencies to provide more information about them.
A total of 791,597 drones are registered with the FAA, nearly evenly divided between commercial and recreational use. They are used in various industries, including photography, agriculture and law enforcement.
Drone operators should not fly near airports because “it is difficult for manned aircraft to see and avoid a drone while flying,” the FAA states.
“The Boston Police Department reminds recreational drone operators of the importance of adhering to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety guidelines,” police said in a statement. “Operators are prohibited from flying drones over people or vehicles and must be aware of airspace restrictions. Even small drones pose significant risks, including the potential for catastrophic damage to airplanes and helicopters. Near-collisions can cause pilots to veer off course, putting lives and property at risk.”
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