As reported drone sightings increase across Massachusetts and the East Coast, one experienced drone operator in Marblehead says he isn’t buying into what he calls the “hysteria.”
“People are looking at stars and claiming they’re drones,” said Francisco Urena, owner of Semper Drone Photography here in town.
In the last several weeks, there have been thousands of sightings in New Jersey, New York and New England of strange lights in the sky, with people reporting them as drones. State and federal agencies have said they are taking the reports seriously.
In Swampscott, people have posted videos to social media of what they identified as drones over the harbor.
Here in Marblehead, Police Chief Dennis King told the Current, “We had one report last Saturday of a drone flying in town. An officer checked the area, and a drone was not located. Nothing suggests this was a suspicious drone sighting, nor was the sighting confirmed to be a drone.”
Urena owns commercial-grade drones with high-powered cameras. He shoots videos and photos for real estate developers and also sells prints of his photos.
He says people shouldn’t worry that drones are spying on them or trying to collect private information.
“What the drones can pick up is already available on Google Maps,” he said.
Urena added that any “bad actors” would likely fly their drones without lights.
There are a handful of photographers who own drones in town, according to Urena. The Marblehead Police Department has what King calls an “unmanned aircraft system and a team of operators that are trained to operate within federal regulations and assistance for incidents like people searches on land and in our harbor. They also assist with security at some of our planned events like the Christmas Walk and Tree Lighting.”
King points out that Marblehead does not have any bylaws governing drones. To fly a drone as a hobbyist, you are required by the Federal Aviation Administration to take the Recreational Drone Training and Safety test. You are also required to follow the FAA’s recreational model aircraft rules. One of those rules is that if your drone weighs more than 0.55 lbs., you’ll need to pay $5 to get it registered. Hobbyists can fly at or below 400 feet in uncontrolled airspace. There are additional rules regarding keeping your drone within line-of-sight while you’re flying.
To fly a drone as a commercial pilot in Massachusetts (for work or business purposes, like Urena) you are required to follow the requirements of the FAA’s Part 107 Small UAS Rule, which includes passing the FAA’s aeronautical knowledge test to obtain a remote pilot certificate.
