NOAA accidentally mails college student $350,000 drone
Digital Reporter
Tuesday, May 6, 2014, 5:05 PM - An unidentified Massachusetts student who goes by the Reddit username Seventy_Seven got quite the surprise in the mail Monday afternoon.
The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) appears to have accidentally mailed the student parts of a $350,000 environment and wildlife monitoring drone.
The story is making headlines after Seventy_Seven posted photos of the delivery to the popular information-sharing site Reddit along with the message: “I think I just got a drone in the mail”.
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According to the student, UPS is insisting that the package was delivered to the correct address. "They told me that it was one of the undelivered packages in their office, and asked if I've ever had an undelivered package. I said no, but he insisted that it was mine, and said that it was up to me if I want to keep it or not," Seventy_Seven said on Reddit.
"I don't think that's the right way to go about this, so I'm going to call the number on the card, and get this sorted out," the student adds.
While some Reddit users have commented that it's a federal offense to open someone else's mail, the user says that doesn't apply as the label was addressed to Seventy_Seven.
"Though an odd box, I genuinely thought it was parts for the bench I ordered, since I wasn't expecting a freaking drone," the student adds.
NOAA spokesperson David Miller told the Motherboard blog that the agency "did not mail the package to the wrong address," adding that the error occurred on the UPS side.
