Article content

When the RCMP charged a Kingston, Ont., youth in connection with an alleged terrorism plot, local citizens got a resolution to two questions that had until Friday dogged them all month long.

Who keeps flying their noisy plane over town at night? And what, exactly, were they trying to accomplish?

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Riddle of mysterious plane that for weeks buzzed Kingston sky at night solved by RCMP terror arrests Back to video

As the terrorism charge was announced at a news conference in Kingston on Friday afternoon, officials confirmed the RCMP employed a Pilatus surveillance plane in the course of its national security investigation.

The admission puts to an end a mystery that began to befog Kingstonians at the start of January, when they first heard a buzz in the sky that persisted for hours on end after nightfall. The sound returned on a regular basis over a few weeks and gained wide attention when residents started expressing their confusion and annoyance on social media.

RCMP Superintendent Peter Lambertucci said investigators made use of the plane to help preserve public safety and mitigate risk, adding the aircraft’s sudden notoriety didn’t prompt them to quicken the pace of their work.