A New Jersey drone pilot says his device lost power and was forced to descend from a restricted chunk of airspace while the mystery flier he was trying to investigate managed to stay airborne despite a signal designed to shut down legal drones.
Michael B, a podcaster and paranormal investigator behind the Terror Talk Productions YouTube channel, lives near the Picatinny Arsenal, an Army facility near where dozens of sightings have been reported in recent weeks. He was flying in the area, attempting to get a closer look at a larger, unidentified object he believes 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.”
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Photos taken in the Bay Shore section of Toms River of what appear to be large drones hovering in the area at high altitudes in New Jersey on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. The drones seemed to be well above the 400 feet height FAA regulations allow. (Doug Hood/Asbury Park Press)
He said he saw a warning flash across the screen of his controller and the battery died.
“Drone started going down,” he said. “Dead battery.”
But while the restricted flight area shut down his drone, the mystery one he was trying to approach continued to fly.
B did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment from Fox News Digital Monday.
New Jersey podcaster Michael B prepares to launch a drone. (FOX 5 New York)
GPS-equipped drones that fly into restricted areas, places protected by virtual geofencing, can be repelled, stopped in place or forced to land.
It was not immediately clear what happened to the mystery device.
An Army spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Picatinny Arsenal had requested and received a temporary flight restriction until Dec. 26 for its airspace as a result of the abundance of reported drone sightings in the area.
Dozens of sightings have been reported over the skies of New Jersey and elsewhere around the country since mid-November, prompting residents to demand answers from the government, which so far hasn’t revealed much.
Photos taken in the Bay Shore section of Toms River of what appear to be large drones hovering in the area at high altitudes in New Jersey on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. The drones seemed to be well above the 400 feet height FAA regulations allow. (Doug Hood/Asbury Park Press)
The FAA said it is investigating the reported sightings and issued temporary flight restrictions for the airspace around Picatinny as well as the nearby Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster.
“We look into all reports of unauthorized drone operations and investigate when appropriate,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Drone operators who conduct unsafe operations that endanger other aircraft or people on the ground could face fines up to $75,000. In addition, we can suspend or revoke drone operators’ pilot certificates.”
New Jersey state Sen. Joe Pennacchio, a Republican, even sent a letter to President-elect Trump asking the incoming administration to prioritize an investigation into the matter.
“Local, county, and state law enforcement officials are working diligently trying to find answers,” he wrote. “Without these answers we have no idea whether the citizens of our state are safe. Unfortunately, they depend on our federal security agencies for answers and directions. To date, almost a month into their initial sightings no answers have come from those federal agencies.”
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.
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“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.
