According to a New Jersey drone pilot, his device experienced a power loss and had to come down from a restricted zone while the unknown flyer he was observing managed to remain in the air despite a signal intended to ground legal drones.
Named Michael B, a host of a podcast and a paranormal researcher who operates the Terror Talk Productions YouTube channel, resides close to the Picatinny Arsenal, an Army base where numerous sightings have been documented recently. He was navigating in the vicinity, aiming to examine a larger, unidentified object he suspects is a drone.
“There was a drone just hanging out,” he told FOX 5 New York. “I had full battery life. Not 3 minutes into the flight, I lost control of the drone.”
“Local, county, and state law enforcement departments are putting in extensive efforts to uncover explanations,” he stated. “In the absence of these, we are left clueless about the safety of our state’s residents. Regrettably, they rely on our federal security bodies for clarifications and guidance. So far, almost a month after their initial sightings, no clarifications have been provided by these federal organizations.”
A social media user said she filmed several drones hovering over Fairfield, Connecticut, on Thursday night. (Lucy Biggers)
Despite FAA regulations and software-defined geofences, drones can be modified and hacked to get around the restrictions.
Last week, federal prosecutors announced charges against a Chinese citizen accused of using a hacked drone to take photos of the Vandenberg Space Force Base from a mile up.
The source of the drones remains a mystery, and it’s not even clear that all of the flying objects are drones and not manned aircraft. Experts note that the navigation lights are a big hint that whoever’s flying them isn’t trying to keep them hidden.
“Upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully,” White House national security communications adviser John Kirby told reporters Thursday.
“Many” of them – but others remain unexplained.
Former CIA operations officer Laura Ballman told “Fox News Live” Sunday that she suspects the mystery drones could be part of a classified test of technology designed to either detect or evade detection.
