CLERMONT, Fla. – Neighbors are sharing their concerns after a mystery man on a motorized parachute flew close to homes.
“As he is passing, he is looking to the side, and he is basically recording things on his camera helmet and it happens to be my wife in the bathroom,” J.D. Weeks said.
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J.D. Weeks lives in the Magnolia Pointe neighborhood where he shares a video with News 6 of a man flying a paramotor parachute.
Weeks says it’s unsettling seeing the man fly so close to homes.
“You know, it’s a motorized backpack, he can hurt somebody. Potentially I know it takes fuel, so if he is a crowded area and he smacks something up against something and crashes and start a fire, it’s just an overall safety issue,” Weeks said.
Weeks says he has seen this mystery man in the skies for about a year and explained he posted the video on a community blog looking to get results.
Neighbors were seen echoing his thoughts with some questioning the legality of the man flying near homes. Others even calling for the man to stop flying his motorized parachute.
We took these concerns to Lake County where a spokesperson in a statement said, “Lake County’s codes would only pertain to the situation if the paraplane was landing on the resident’s property. As long as the aircraft is in the air, it is under the guidance of the FAA.”
We did reach out to the FAA who reacted to Week’s video and stated that if the vehicle was unregistered it would violate federal regulations.
The FAA said the motorized parachute may also violate Part 103.9 and Part 103.15, which prohibts these types of aircrafts to operate over densely populated areas or creating a hazard to people or property.
In their response, the FAA encourages anyone who had a concern about the safety of a flight to contact their local FAA standards district office.
Weeks says going forward he just wants the mystery flyer to be mindful of his neighbors.
“I think everyone can, you know, do their own hobby and should be able to enjoy themselves… but when you are 15 feet above the roof, you know it’s all times of the day and evening like at dusk, it just could be a problem.”
The City of Clermont said they will be looking into these complaints to see what or if anything can be done to address the situation.
Residents are now being advised to alert police the next time this mystery flyer is in the sky.
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