MIT flight being investigated

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the flight of the noisy, low-flying aircraft that passed over area towns Tuesday, May 19.

The plane, a Gulfstream II private jet, was flying a 33-minute "data collection mission" out of the MIT Lincoln Lab's hangar on the Hanscom Air Force Base, said lab spokesperson David Granchelli. It was flying at 1,000 feet above Mean Sea Level, he said in an email, adding, "with rising terrain the above ground level could be less than 1000ft."

According to FAA regulations, pilots generally cannot fly within 1,000 feet of the tallest object in an area.

A flight path report, which MIT confirmed is accurate, appears to show the aircraft flew in circles around the area, crossing six or seven times over communities.

Arlington's Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine said it is protocol for Hanscom officials to notify towns before low-flying plane events. 

The mission was "associated with a [Department of Defense] program" and therefore a plan for it was not given to officials in surrounding communities, Granchelli said. "The FAA and the pilots did not deem this a safety risk."

According to the a statement from the lab, weather was to blame for the unusually low flight.

"The weather made it difficult for the aircraft to achieve an altitude higher than 1,000 ft in the traffic pattern," the statement reads. "Typically, the Laboratory’s aircraft fly at higher altitudes to minimize noise disturbances, but because of the importance of this data collection to the program it supports, the decision was made to conduct the mission. Lincoln Laboratory, a federal R&D Laboratory that develops technology for national security, would like to assure local communities that it will continue its longstanding policy to plan aircraft flights that avoid causing undue noise.”

An FAA spokesperson said the agency opened an investigation into the flight shortly after a number of reports from towns in the plane's flight path, which touched Lexington, Arlington and parts of other communities.

Arlington Police Chief Fred Ryan said the number of complaints his department received about the planes was unusual, but said  residents shouldn't be concerned.

"Clearly the flight was authorized and this may just be a break in communications," Ryan said. 

Source: http://lincoln.wickedlocal.com