The recent sightings of mysterious drones over Massachusetts and the arrests of two men who allegedly flew the unmanned aircraft close to Logan Airport are leading a state lawmaker to refile legislation he says would increase accountability.
State Rep. Bruce Ayers, D-Quincy, says more safeguards against “reckless behavior” are essential as drone technology increases every year, making them faster and capable of carrying significant weight with “high-powered cameras.”
Ayers plans to refile two pieces of legislation at the State House in the new year, one that would impose fines and restrictions on flying drones in flight paths, near airports, and another that would target flight over schools.
Boston Police responded to Long Island, part of Ayers’ district, on Dec. 14 after officials noticed a drone flying around the Boston Harbor, at a distance deemed too close to Logan Airport on their monitoring systems.
Authorities charged Robert Duffy, 42, of Charlestown, and Jeremy Folcik, 32, of Bridgewater, with trespassing, breaking and entering, and violating a municipal ordinance or bylaw, in connection to flying the drones in “hazardous air space.”
Dorchester District Court Judge Erika Reis ordered the defendants to stay away from the closed Long Island health campus and not operate drones, releasing them without bail.
Ayers told the Herald on Saturday that he believes Duffy and Folcik should have faced harsher consequences.
“We need to set a stronger precedent that if people are flying these drones recklessly, it’s no joke, it’s no harmless prank,” he said. “There are going to be consequences.”
Under his act relative to air traffic safety, individuals who purposely fly drones or aim the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft or the flight path, interfering with travel, would be punished by a fine of no more than $1,500.
The punishment would increase if a “significant change of course or other serious disruption to the safe travel of an aircraft” threatened the safety of passengers or the crew. In those instances, individuals would face a fine of up to $5,000 or up to five years in state prison, or both.
“That is the most dangerous time when a flight is descending, our pilots are trying to navigate the instruments and prepare to land,” Ayers said. “We need to be able to protect them.”
Massport has installed more than 200 “No Drone Zone” signs around Logan Airport and other facilities, and the state Department of Conservation and Recreation prohibits flying over its properties unless authorized.
Drone operators in Massachusetts don’t need a state-level permit but must follow federal regulations. Recreational drones that weigh over 0.55 pounds are required to be registered with the Federal Aviation Administration, and commercially, an FAA remote pilot certificate is required.
Individuals who fly in restricted airspace and commit a federal violation could be fined up to $27,500 for civil penalties or criminal charges. Local law enforcement is unable to enforce FAA regulations.
Boston Police said that the men who they arrested for flying the drones too close to Logan Airport could end up facing federal charges.
Ayers added his proposed law would provide “more resources on the ground,” meaning more local and state police surrounding airports would be focused on tracking down drones to assist the feds.
The other legislation that Ayers is set to refile would carry fines for flying drones within a vertical distance of 400 feet in school zones.
While the reported sightings of the mysterious drones over Cape Cod and elsewhere in Massachusetts were fairly limited and have dropped during the holidays, Ayers said he’s still hearing from constituents.
“People were scared, they’re concerned, and they’re frustrated,” he said. “They want to know what is going on. This would give us more resources to identify and go after people who may be doing wrongdoing, and if so, to prosecute them.”
Gov. Maura Healey has also expressed concern although she admitted Massachusetts wasn’t seeing the volume of reported drones as in New York and New Jersey, and that authorities weren’t aware of a public safety threat.
Healey has urged Congress to allow states to investigate and prosecute illegal activity and provide better technology to help detect drones.
“The pace of technology has really evolved very quickly,” the governor told reporters on Dec. 17, “and it’s a serious concern.”
The week before Christmas, the FAA banned drone flights in 22 areas in New Jersey and 30 areas in New York, mostly in and around New York City and on Long Island, where critical infrastructure is located, through mid-January.
Federal authorities had said many of the sightings had been of legal drones, manned aircraft, helicopters and even stars. The feds have not identified any public safety or national security risks.
“There are more than 1 million drones that are lawfully registered with the Federal Aviation Administration here in the United States,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said. “And there are thousands of commercial, hobbyist and law enforcement drones that are lawfully in the sky on any given day. That is the ecosystem that we are dealing with.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report