Amid the nationwide drone hysteria, two men appeared in court after allegedly flying a drone too close to Logan Airport over the weekend.
The situation that landed two men a date in Dorchester District Court on Monday is part of the reason why aviation experts are so skeptical of all these drone sightings, as it appears this situation has a simple explanation – copycats.
Thirty-two-year-old Jeremy Folcik of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and 42-year-old Robert Duffy of Charlestown are facing charges after they allegedly few a drone too close to Logan Airport Saturday night. The charges are simply for trespassing, though federal charges are possible at a later time. They were arrested with a drone on the Boston Harbor Island known as “Long Island” inside the decommissioned Long Island Health Campus and then tried to get away.
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Both men pleaded not guilty and were released on personal recognizance, with conditions that they must stay away from Long Island and cannot operate any drones. They are next scheduled to appear for a pretrial hearing on Feb. 6.
Investigators say they’re still searching for a third person who fled the island by boat.
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But despite all the excitement around these drones, aviation experts caution this is not a new phenomenon.
“These are not mysterious, they’re not crazy they’re not sort of secret events these are things that have always been there and people are noticing them people are looking up more at the skies now because people are talking about it," said Seth Miller, PaxEx.aero aviation expert. "At the end of the day, this is a very, very normal situation.”
