FAA bans drones in parts of New Jersey as UFO hysteria continues

The FAA has imposed temporary flight restrictions on drone operations over parts of New Jersey, according to notice published on the agency’s website. The drone ban is likely related to the recent bout of mass hysteria over alleged “drone” sightings, although the agency has not said so specifically. The FAA told the New York Times the ban was put in place at the request of “federal security partners,” without elaborating.

The drone ban covers 22 different communities in New Jersey and is due to expire on January 17, 2025. It is not clear why this cut-off date was chosen. The FAA did not respond to Gizmodo’s questions about the specific timing of the flight restrictions and their connection to the drone sightings in an email Thursday morning and referred us to the Department of Homeland Security.

“We continue to assess that there is no threat to public safety related to the reported drone sightings,” a DHS spokesperson told Gizmodo via email. The spokesperson did not respond to our specific questions on the record.

“In coordination with the FAA and our critical infrastructure partners, who requested temporary flight restrictions over their facilities out of an abundance of caution, the FAA has issued temporary flight restrictions over certain critical infrastructure facilities in New Jersey,” the spokesperson wrote.

People in New Jersey began reporting strange “drones” in the sky to police around November 18, according to NBC News, and since then they’ve been reported to have been seen every day, except for an apparent break on Thanksgiving. So-called drones have prompted more and more people to post videos taken by what they believe to be unmanned aerial vehicles. And while some of the videos are difficult to explain, the majority appear to be ordinary commercial aircraft.

While it’s not unusual for internet nerds to get excited about nothing, this drone panic has spread to areas that are unexpected. Several elected leaders have called on the federal government to act, including President-elect Donald Trump, who has both claimed the government is trying to hide something and said they should be ousted.

But the concern is bipartisan. Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate majority leader, called for more action and stepped up the clamor.

“Some of the drones are small. Some of the drone flight patterns are erratic,” Schumer said Sunday, according to NBC News. “Multiple drones flying together can confuse a traditional radar system and so, again, this new technology can really give us the answers we need.”

People also point lasers at commercial flights, an incredibly dangerous activity that can illuminate the interior of the cockpit and blind the pilots. Laser strikes were already a serious problem, but they have become so common during the current drone hysteria that the FAA was forced to issue a statement warning the public against it. Shining a laser at aircraft is a federal crime that can result in jail time and hefty fines.

Some of the most unbelievable theories about drones have come from elected leaders, including claims by a Republican congressman that they are actually being deployed by Iranian mother ship off the east coast of the USA

“Know that Iran made a deal with China to buy drones, motherships and technology to move forward,” Congressman Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey said on Fox News 11 Dec. “The sources I have are good. They can’t reveal who they are because they are talking to me confidentially. These drones must be taken down.”

There is no evidence that Iran has deployed an unmanned mother ship, despite the fact that Van Drew has access to real power and should know things. Van Drew is a member of the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Aviation Transportation. But nothing would surprise us at this stage when it comes to strange sightings. With Trump back in office in a month, things are shaping up to get a lot weirder in the coming months and years, drones or no drones.