Report From May 9, 2013 - QUINCY (CBS) -- A mystery in Quincy continues to deepen: Who is flying around the city from dusk to dawn, for the past ten days or so? "It's frightening, not just weird, but frightening," said one resident of the Wollaston section. Every night for nearly the last two weeks, residents have spotted a low-flying aircraft doing loops over the city. WBZ has learned the FAA knows what's going on, but the agency isn't telling.
"I mean it is strange. I don't know if they're looking for somebody, I have no idea," one resident told WBZ. It's not the state or local police doing the flying, and the FAA is giving out little information, even to city officials.
"It's frustrating, it really is," says City Councillor Brian Palmucci. "I specifically asked, 'Is it a law enforcement flight? Can we tell people that?' He said, 'No, we can't tell you that.' Then I asked that when folks call me can I at least tell them that it is something that they shouldn't worry about, it's something they shouldn't be concerned with? He said, 'I can't tell you that.'"
The aircraft doesn't appear to be flying when it's cloudy out, only taking to the skies on starlit nights. Sources tell WBZ that the aircraft is not a drone, that it is manned. FAA spokesman Jim Peters would only say, "We have to be very careful this time" concerning information. Even the Mayor has been kept in the dark. "We're as frustrated as our constituents," said Mayor Tom Koch. "We'd like to be able to give our citizens some answers, but we don't have any answers."
Obviously when the federal government wants to keep something quiet, they keep it very quiet. In this case, they wouldn't even say how long it would continue flying for. "The FBI does not comment on aerial activity," a statement from the bureau said.
In the meantime, neighbors are complaining the plane is keeping them up at night.
"This strong humming sound as you look up and you go, 'Oh there she goes again.' It goes all the way around, comes all the way back, keeps going at 5 o'clock in the morning," one resident told WBZ NewsRadio.
Palmucci is just hoping he can ease any worries his residents are sharing.
"If it's an operation that requires some secrecy, that can be appreciated by residents," said Palmucci. "Just at the very least if the FAA can release something that says there's nothing that should cause folks any concern, I think that would put people at ease.
