Aerial survey "mystery plane" over Quincy, MA
 

Not sure where to put this, so might as well start it here and admins can move it if they want. If nothing else it's an intersting story. Maybe some in our little aviation world know something.

I have some articles and a pic below. I'll put what's known into bullet points to save you time.

-In the last couple weeks residents of Quincy, MA say one or more small aircraft have been loitering and maneuvering over the area, primarily during the overnight hours, and causing a nuisance.
-Residents and the mayor contacted the FAA and were told the FAA was aware of the flying, but could not provide any more info.
- A resident snaged a photo of the plane (below). It's a C182, N906TM, and there is clearly an imaging pod behind the left main.
-The registration was traced to a Virginia based corporation called RKT Productions. Someone traced the company to a DC-based author, activist, and hip-hop artist.
-Conspiracy theories abound.
-Not clear if they're hiring pilots :D

Interesting if nothing else. Discuss, discuss.

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/...ed-102625.html

Photos show mystery aircraft over Quincy is not a drone - Quincy - Your Town - Boston.com

Mystery Aircraft Frightens Quincy Residents « CBS Boston

It's a North Korean spy plane.

If it was an Aeronca C2 with one of those old timey flash bulb cameras, I'd agree.

Really. :confused:
Some people are so easily unnerved, they wouldn't know what to do if there was REALLY something to be scared of! It must be terrible to live your life in such a state of constant fear!

You could hire another Cessna to pursue to its home airport. If it goes in circles it might be possible to launch when it looks like it is leaving the region, and you can figure out the endurance and range using published data. It may be an FBI plane doing some a mission (be careful). Before doing a recon mission I would try to find out if it is them, maybe let the FAA know what you plan to do first, and see if that gets a response from anyone.

[mod note] this belongs in Hangar Talk for now.

Nothing to be gained by discussing a C-206 that the FAA has acknowledged awareness of its activities. End of story. I recommend we move on to other topics.

It's a 182 isn't it? N906TM is the tail number given. From the picture it looks lie it is equipped with some sort of special equipment on the port side, a camera or a magnetometer.

yes 182 looks like, my mistake. I have the same opinion.

No different than joe private pilot flying around in public airspace with a camera. Who cares? Conspiracy theorists are always going to have conspiracy theories...because they are paranoid. Americans that have a reasonable expectation of privacy in this day and age are kidding themselves.

From the new clips it sounds like more of a noise issue at 3am. There may also be some privacy concerns, ie. Google publishing pictures of everyone's house from a minivan.