Unarmed Russian Surveillance Jet Flies Over Boston
BOSTON (CBS) - An unarmed Russian Air Force jet flew over Boston Friday morning as part of a treaty between the United States and 33 other nations.
The flight was part of the Treaty on Open Skies, which allows military airplanes to fly over the military sites of the other countries and collect intelligence.
Veteran Boston Herald photographer, Mark Garfinkel, saw the jet over South Boston at the low altitude of roughly 3,600 feet.
"For a plane to land at Logan they're lower than that but they're pointed at Logan. For a plane to be that low going over the city, that was interesting," Garfinkel said.
Earlier in the week, the Tupolev Tu-154 was spotted over downtown Washington D.C. It also made a pass over Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, according to the flight tracking website, Flightradar24.
U.S. military are on board the flight while it does its surveillance.
The Open Skies Treaty has been in effect since 2002 and over 1,200 flights have been conducted.