CBS News: Pilot Arrested for Aerial Stalking, FBI Now Involved
"When you can watch his plane...fly directly into my residence, a clear direct path to my residence, to circle my residence multiple times, that is harassment at the most purest form..."
The following 6 minute video and article, Schuylerville Pilot Accused of 'Terrorizing' Residents, Buzzing Over Village Repeatedly, was published on May 31, 2023.
SCHUYLERVILLE, NY (WRGB) — Cassie Wilusz, and the hundreds of other people who call the village of Schuylerville home, know the very distinct sound of one certain small plane all too well.
"It's unexplainable. It instantly sends, through your whole entire nervous system, you feel like you're gonna be attacked and you instantly start thinking, what can I do to protect myself?" said Cassie.
Cassie and several other Schuylerville residents, have taken video after video showing the small plane buzzing over the village. Sometimes, too close for comfort.
It's an ordeal Cassie says started four years ago. The alleged pilot of the plane was a customer in her café.
Cassie says she received an email from him containing unsolicited inappropriate photos. She gave him a stern warning, not knowing it would be the start of a years' long battle.
Since then, Cassie says the pilot has taken to flying over the village multiple times a week, several times a day, sometimes as early as 7:00 A.M.
As noted in the article, the Mayor of Schuylerville filed multiple complaints with the police about this pilot. "He knows of at least three other residents who reported the plane, after they say the pilot threw tomatoes out of the windows and onto private property below."
To access the full article click here.
A CBS follow-up report, FBI Investigates Pilot Accused of Stalking Woman and Flying Dangerously Low Over Schuylerville, stated that the offending pilot was issued a cease and desist order. Below are excerpts from the 6/21/2023 article.
Cassandra Wilusz, the woman who has been granted multiple orders of protection against the pilot, says she has spoken with members of the FBI, following his latest arrests and stalking charge...
Wilusz says the pilot, 64 year old Michael Arnold, has been stalking and harassing her both on the ground and in the air since 2019.
Wilusz has long felt the FAA and the New York State Police did not do their due diligence in investigating her claims or complaints made by others in the Village of Schuylerville about Arnold's flying habits.
A third CBS news report from 6/21/2023 Flight Records Show Accused Stalker Pilot Flying Below FAA Minimum Altitude provides documented evidence that the pilot was in violation of Federal Aviation Administration minimum altitude requirements.
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