Two Massachusetts men who flew a drone “dangerously close” to Logan International Airport in Boston are facing charges, police say.
Robert Duffy, 42, of Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood and Jeremy Folcik, 32, of Bridgewater were taken into custody late Saturday night on Long Island, which is located on the approach to the airport, according to the Boston Police Department.
“The incident began earlier that evening, at 4:30 PM, when a Boston Police Officer specializing in real-time crime surveillance detected an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) operating dangerously close to Logan International Airport,” police said in a statement. “Leveraging advanced UAS monitoring technology, the Officer identified the drone’s location, altitude, flight history, and the operators’ position on Long Island.”
“Members of the Boston Police Harbor Patrol Unit were dispatched to Long Island and located three individuals inside the decommissioned Long Island Health Campus. Upon attempting to make contact, the suspects fled on foot,” police added. “Two of the three individuals were apprehended and identified as Duffy and Folcik. During the investigation, a drone was discovered inside a backpack carried by Duffy.”
Planes are seen operating at Boston’s Logan airport in October 2020. (Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images