A angry governor in New York called for federal assistance after mysterious drones temporarily closed runways at an airport in Orange County, saying that “this has gone too far.”
Runways at New York Stewart International Airport had to be closed for around an hour on Friday night “due to drone activity in the airspace,” according to a statement from Governor Kathy Hochul.
The Federal Aviation Administration stated in a statement to NBC New York on Saturday that it momentarily restricted aviation operations late Friday night “due to multiple reported drone sightings near and over the airport.”
According to the organization, there have been no effects on airplane safety.
Around 9:40 p.m. on Friday, the FAA reported a drone sighting to the airport, according to a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey official. According to the spokeswoman, the runways were reopened at 10:45 p.m. Flights were unaffected by the stoppage.
Hochul declared, “This has gone too far,”
Concern and bewilderment have been raised by the drone sightings over New York, New Jersey, and other Northeastern states. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Republican Reps. Chris Smith and Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey are among the lawmakers who have urged the military to shoot them down. However, experts have stated that shooting them is against the law and constitutes a safety risk.
According to Hochul, she gave the New York State Intelligence Center instructions to look into the sightings thoroughly and work with federal law enforcement to deal with the drones. The governor stated that the activities are still under progress.
“But in order to allow state law enforcement to work on this issue, I am now calling on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act,” she stated. “This bill would reform legal authorities to counter-UAS and strengthen the FAA s oversight of drones, and would extend counter-UAS activities to select state and local law enforcement agencies.”
It is imperative that these rights be extended to New York State and our colleagues. To protect our vital infrastructure and our citizens, the Biden Administration must intervene by sending more federal law enforcement to New York and the surrounding area until state and local authorities are given those authorities,” Hochul continued.
According to the White House, there is “no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus.” The drones that have been flying over New Jersey in recent weeks, according to officials, seem to be commercial-grade rather than recreational.
On Saturday, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security official reaffirmed during an interagency background call that there is no “evidence that there’s a threat to public safety.”
While a Federal Bureau of Investigation official stated that there has “been a slight overreaction” to the drone sightings, an FAA official stated that flying drones in U.S. airspace is not unlawful.
“We’re confident that many of the reported drone sightings are, in fact, manned aircraft being misidentified as drones,” the DHS official stated during the discussion. “There is no evidence to date of any foreign based involvement in sending drones ashore from marine vessels in the area.”
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