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Councilor Flynn requests hearing on drone policy after City Hall Plaza crash and FAA waivers
Summary
Councilor Flynn filed an order for a public safety hearing on the use of drones in Boston, citing a drone crash at a public event, arrests near Logan Airport and an FAA waiver allowing flights over people and vehicles in parts of the city.
Councilor Frank Flynn filed an order asking the council's Public Safety and Criminal Justice committee to hold a hearing on establishing a city drone policy.
Flynn cited a crash last October at a Celtics opening‑night watch party on Boston City Hall Plaza in which a drone controlled by a media employee struck a light pole and injured two people. He also cited arrests in December of two men who flew drones close to Logan International Airport, a prohibited airspace for unmanned aircraft.
"This accident illustrates the public safety issues with drone technology," Flynn said, and he called for a fuller discussion of public safety, privacy and enforcement options.
Flynn summarized applicable federal rules and local signage. He told the council the Federal Aviation Administration restricts recreational and commercial flights (including a 400‑foot ceiling and registration thresholds for aircraft over 0.55 pounds) and that Massport has installed "no drone" signage around Logan and other properties. Flynn also flagged a recent FAA waiver allowing a Canadian company, Dragonfly, to operate small drones over people and moving vehicles along a prescribed flight route over the city, noting the waiver permits flights over bystanders who are not direct participants in the operation.
Flynn noted Boston's surveillance oversight ordinance governs police use of drone technology for surveillance, but that the city lacks separate regulations for individual or commercial drone operations in city spaces. He said state legislation under consideration would prohibit certain flights near airports and school properties.
The council added councilors Braden, Colette Zapata, Durkin, Fitzgerald, Mejia, Murphy, Pepin, Santana, Weber and Worrell as cosponsors of docket 1017. The clerk referred the docket to the Public Safety and Criminal Justice committee for a hearing.
