After more drone sightings, officials in NY, NJ demand action
NEW YORK (WABC) -- State and local officials in New York and New Jersey are demanding more action from the federal government in getting to the bottom of the drone sightings sparking alarm among residents.
At a news conference in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, on Saturday, Rep. Chris Smith, (R-N.J.) said he's working on legislation to give state and local authorities more power to track and potentially bring down aerial drones.
Smith said that New Jersey officials are demanding more action from federal partners, calling the drones a "very considerable danger."
During the news conference, the congressman described concerning sightings over the past few weeks by law enforcement officers and military personnel.
"This crisis really is the ultimate wake-up call to threats posed by potentially hostile drones," he said.
In New York, officials at Stewart International Airport, located roughly 60 miles north of New York City, said they shut down their runways for an hour after the Federal Aviation Administration alerted them that a drone was spotted in the area around 9:30 p.m.
Air traffic control recordings from the airport during that time include a pilot reporting drone sightings in the area.
The FAA said it "slowed traffic" at the airport because of the reported drone sightings near and over the airport. The agency added that no aircraft were impacted. The airport temporarily closed its runways, but no flight operations were impacted during the closure.
"This has gone too far," New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement.
Hochul called on the New York State Intelligence Center to probe the drone sighting incidents but also called on the federal government to do more.
Specifically, she called on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act, which would strengthen the FAA's oversight of drones and give more authority to state and local law enforcement agencies to investigate the activity.
"Until those powers are granted to state and local officials, the Biden Administration must step in by directing additional federal law enforcement to New York and the surrounding region to ensure the safety of our critical infrastructure and our people," she said.
Federal officials have repeatedly stressed that there is no evidence any of the reported drones pose a national security or public safety threat or have any foreign connections.
In a call with reporters on Saturday, an FBI official said federal authorities are investigating the New Jersey sightings but that, out of nearly 5,000 tips the agency has received, fewer than 100 have generated credible leads for further investigation.
A Department of Homeland Security official said that they are "confident that many of the reported drone sightings are, in fact, manned aircraft being misidentified as drones."
The FBI official also discussed how investigators overlayed the locations of the reported drone sightings and found that "the density of reported sightings matches the approach pattern" of the New York area's busy airports, including Newark, Liberty, JFK, and LaGuardia.
But, an FAA official says that there have "without a doubt" been drones flying over New Jersey, pointing to the fact that nearly a million drones are registered in the U.S.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is also weighing in on the matter, telling Eyewitness News on Saturday he is surprised that the federal government does not seem to know much about what is flying above his state.
Just the day before, officials said there were "multiple" instances of drones spotted entering the airspace at a Navy weapons station.
Murphy says he may travel to Washington D.C. next week to seek answers, including why legislation that gives more power to state and local officials to investigate the recent drone sightings hasn't been passed. Murphy also plans to call for more federal resources to address the ongoing sightings.
The FAA is responsible for the regulations governing drone use, and Congress has written some requirements into law.
The FAA official on Saturday's call noted that flying a drone is legal in most locations during the day or night, provided that the drone remains below 400 feet, stays within the drone operator's line of sight, and does not pose safety hazards to people, property or violate airspace restrictions.
But there remains concern about the reports of drones flying near sensitive areas including military bases. The FAA official did say that the FAA received the first report of drone activity near Morris County, New Jersey, on November 18. In response, the agency issued two temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) prohibiting drone activity over Picatinny Arsenal and Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Both of the TFRs are still in effect and can be extended. The FAA is working to establish a permanent flight restriction over Picatinny Arsenal.
A Joint Chiefs of Staff official said that there have been visual sightings of drones reported by "highly trained security personnel" near Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle in New Jersey. The official said that they do not believe the sightings "were aligned with a foreign actor, or that they had malicious intent."
But the Joint Chiefs of Staff official added that they don't know much about those sightings because they have limited authority to investigate off base.
Some information from ABC News and the Associated Press.
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