Politicians and news reporters who broadcast politicians' concerns without question, are feeding the frenzy. So far, the people commenting on drone regulations and laws seem to be ignorant about pilot and drone registration and places legal to fly.
But, according to aviation experts there is no concern over safety or national security as most reports are manned aircraft coming in or departing area airports of which New Jersey and New York has many. They report no drones have been confirmed over military or restricted air space. As drones are aircraft as designated by the FAA, you would violate Federal law by shooting a drone or interfering with it's flight just as you would interfering with a plane in the air or on the ground.
The federal agency responsible for aircraft, air space over the U.S., and air traffic control is the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA’s role is to ensure drones and other aircraft operate safely within the National Airspace System.
Generally speaking, it is legal to fly a drone in most locations, including over houses or buildings, even at night, if you’re operating under 400 feet and follow the rules — including safety tests for recreational pilots, keeping below 400 feet, keeping the drone in sight, avoiding all other aircraft, not causing a hazard to any people or property, and avoiding restricted airspace.
Flight time for drones will vary between 10 minutes and 30 minutes, larger, heavier drones like pictured smaller times, and smaller drones longer time. Drones are are battery powered. Drones will vary between about 6 inches wide to 5 foot wide.
What happens if a drone is over your house?
Pilots must operate drones so they don’t pose a hazard to people or property. Drones may be taking photos of local real estate if the operator is FAA licensed to fly. The drone may fly over any property legally. If you think someone’s flying unsafely and it poses an immediate threat, you should contact local law enforcement. The FAA does not regulate privacy, but local privacy laws may apply to drone operations.
Flightaware.com can be utilized to see what aircraft are in your area and any area of the U.S. Airaware.aloft.ia can show what areas are legal to fly drones and restricted area where you cannot.
The FAA said this week: “We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus. The FBI, DHS and our federal partners, in close coordination with the New Jersey State Police, continue to deploy personnel and technology to investigate this situation and confirm whether the reported drone flights are actually drones or are instead manned aircraft or otherwise inaccurate sightings.
“Historically, we have experienced cases of mistaken identity, where reported drones are, in fact, manned aircraft or facilities. We are supporting local law enforcement in New Jersey with numerous detection methods but have not corroborated any of the reported visual sightings with electronic detection. To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully. There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted air space.
“We take seriously the threat that can be posed by unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), which is why law enforcement and other agencies continue to support New Jersey and investigate the reports. To be clear, they have uncovered no such malicious activity or intent at this stage. While there is no known malicious activity occurring in New Jersey, the reported sightings there do, however, highlight the insufficiency of current authorities."
“Historically, we have experienced cases of mistaken identity, where reported drones are, in fact, manned aircraft or facilities. We are supporting local law enforcement in New Jersey with numerous detection methods but have not corroborated any of the reported visual sightings with electronic detection. To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully. There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted air space.
“We take seriously the threat that can be posed by unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), which is why law enforcement and other agencies continue to support New Jersey and investigate the reports. To be clear, they have uncovered no such malicious activity or intent at this stage. While there is no known malicious activity occurring in New Jersey, the reported sightings there do, however, highlight the insufficiency of current authorities."
You can find a new video message posted here.
Click here for what to know about drones.
DHS/FBI joint statement on reports of drones in New Jersey. (quoted above)
Click here for what to know about drones.
DHS/FBI joint statement on reports of drones in New Jersey. (quoted above)
Drone Photo by Don Browne - A large agricultural drone that sprays farm fields
Excellent report! Ignorance promotes false concern. Add politics to the equation, and you create panic.
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