BY WALTER ELLIOTT
NEWARK – There are millions of New Jerseyans, including those in the “Local Talk” area, who feel as if they are in a “Drones Over Jersey” mystery movie since Nov. 19.
People are looking up into the night sky to see a single light or vehicle – or several – blinking back. Some will travel in a direction and/or hover and then just as mysteriously fly away.
What started as a few sightings in Morris and Somerset counties on Nov. 19 has grown to some 5,000 sightings reported among eight New Jersey counties plus as many states from New Hampshire and Maryland to Colorado and California as of press time. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, the New Jersey State Police, state HHS and local law enforcement have received some 3,500 in the Garden State.
Many sighting witnesses said that the vehicles were the size of car sedans or car-based SUVs – meaning that the drones may not be the type one buys for $1,000 at a hobby store. There have been arrests of drone operators in Massachusetts for flying within a restricted zone. Most sightings are at dusk or at night – which the FAA had recently relaxed drone restrictions.
Drones are banned from flying near civilian airports, military facilities and President-Elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf course. Some were in response to those flying near Morris County’s Picatinny armaments grounds and “a dozen closely following” a U.S. Coast Guard portable boat off the Earle Naval Munitions station.
Stewart Airport in Upstate New York was closed for several hours Dec. 16 until sighted drones left the area.
One can almost hear the late movie trailer voiceover artist Don LaFontaine say, “Drones Over New Jersey – Coming to Your Neighborhood!”
The “Local Talk” area is neither a hotbed of sightings nor immune from them. Some residents said that they saw some “around South Orange” or “hovering over the Maplewood Country Club” or spotted above Bloomfield’s part of the Garden State Parkway.
An eight county map of sightings posted Dec. 16 have one reported from Nutley – but it may be the same drones seen in neighboring Clifton. Other sightings so far have been on the periphery: Caldwell, Livingston, Millburn and Fairfield.
Perhaps whoever is, or are, behind the drones may be keeping away from the restricted areas like Newark Liberty International, Caldwell, Morristown, Teterboro, Linden and other nearby airports. Others are either not careful or are indifferent to legal restrictions.
Bloomfielder and licensed private pilot Dan Bitecola, in his Dec. 14 Facebook post, said that “the FAA and local authorities have permission to take action” if drones are violating flying restrictions. Drones are limited to a 400 foot altitude ceiling while private pilots have to ask for a waiver to fly above 401 ft or more.
Bitecola’s seven points on FAA private pilot restrictions include waivers to fly within 30 minutes of twilight or dawn, must remain in sightline with the aircraft, must not fly above people and that drones must broadcast their ID number.
The relatively few sightings in “Local Talk Land” have not kept elected and law enforcement officials from speaking out.
Belleville Mayor Michael Melham said he was with some 50 other New Jersey mayors who attended a drone conference with officials at the State Police’s West Trenton headquarters Dec. 11. He returned unimpressed with the federal government’s “nothing to worry about” position – and sees a link with radioactive material gone missing from a Newfield facility.
“Over 500 mayors were invited on short notice, some of whom driven three hours from North Jersey and what was said could have been done on a Zoom call,” said Melham on his Facebook page. “I’m convening an OEM this afternoon (Dec. 11) with our respective agencies. I’ll be calling my fellow mayors to have the Governor issue an executive order implementing an IMMEDIATE temporary ban on all personal and commercial drones.”
The mayor, in one television interview, said that those who approach crashed drones “should wear a full hazmat suit.” He sees a link between the plethora of drone sightings with the Dec. 2 loss of a small amount or radioactive material from a damaged drum received from a Newfield facility. The Dec. 2 incident was reported by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cong. Jeff van Drew (R-Northfield) claimed that the drones were being launched from an Iranian warship off the Atlantic Coast.
Cong. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair), a former Navy helicopter commander, said that the NORAD tracking facility in Colorado trace drones. Her Dec. 12 action plan includes using MQ-9 Reaper drones from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to track the Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
State and federal officials ask that witnesses document and contact sightings with law enforcement. Using laser pointers, let alone firearms, are prohibited by law for safety.
Those who want to learn the proper use of drones and how to fly them may want to contact the East Orange Mayor’s Office of Employment and Training. EO MOET and the Morristown-based Alpha Drones USA started a free six-week training course past January.
Trainees in the first session helped city DPW workers in cleaning City Hall and the Municipal Court and receive an FAA-approved commercial drone license. Details are found with MOET’s ladonna.jones@eastorange-nj.gov or (973) 677-8914.
