A Big And Bizarre Drone Mystery Is Unfolding In Rural Colorado

[Greg Furtman]

You know, this would be a cool rocket build. I need to find as many photos & specs as possible.

 

[Winston]

Surveillance Plane Joins Intensifying Hunt For Mystery Drones Over Colorado And Nebraska
After meeting with various agencies, the FAA launched a task force to identify the origins of the drone formations seen above Colorado and Nebraska.
8 Jan 2020

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...for-mystery-drones-over-colorado-and-nebraska

Excerpts:

Just this week, the FAA officially launched a task force to identify the operator of the drones, which includes Colorado's most sophisticated surveillance aircraft, and has begun searching for some sort of command truck or van that may be controlling or at least monitoring the mysterious nighttime drone activity.

The drone sightings have continued and grown remarkably throughout Colorado and Nebraska, recently being spotted in several more counties in southwest Nebraska and on the outskirts of the metro Denver area. There is no mystery as to if the drones are actually being seen. Law enforcement and other officials have seen them and, apparently, they are almost laughably easy to see yourself. Case in point: on Jan. 7, local NBC affiliate WOWT in Omaha went out looking for the drones and readily caught them - or some sort of plane they misconstrued as one - on camera outside Mead, Nebraska, flying low with their engines easily heard. Make sure to watch WOWT's video report by clicking here.

Onlookers on the ground also told WOWT that when they pulled out their cameras to photograph the aircraft, the drones turned off their lights and maneuvered away from onlookers below. Many witnesses have described the craft as shaped somewhat like a conventional fixed-wing aircraft, while others like Carlton Britton, Sheriff of Sedgwick County in Kansas, bizarrely described one of the drones as a rectangular "black box" with lights on its sides.

The FAA was far more nebulous in what became somewhat of a contentious exchange. There has been some debate even among seasoned drone operators over the rules surrounding operations of these drones and if they are indeed breaking the law for a number of potential reasons, but the question of flying at night seems to be the most contentious. After repeated attempts, the FAA would not answer simple questions regarding this issue or clarify the rules for us. It was a strange exchange that seemed to be counterproductive and nonsensical.

Some were a bit troubled by our first report on this issue and the concerns we raised regarding the situation. Now that this is very much a real thing and not just people seeing lights in the sky here and there, it seems that the powers that be have finally come to that same conclusion, as well. And that is a very welcome development. The fact that it took weeks even to get an air asset involved is quite strange, but at least that capability is now in play. There are many other counter-unmanned aircraft systems that are passive in nature that could also be beneficial. It seems odd that this budding industry hasn't been called to assist in the investigation and show off their new hardware in the process.

The Clay County Emergency Management Office in Colorado posted the following message to their Facebook page on January 8, 2020. We don't know the accuracy of the information, but it paints a good picture of the confusion the drones are causing for some residents of Colorado and Nebraska and the difficult position it puts local law enforcement agencies in:

January 8, 2020 Drone action plan for today.

Our elected leaders at the county and state level are aware of the drone issue and I saw an article yesterday that shows Senator Deb Fisher has asked FAA directly for an explanation. I know CO elected officials have made the same request. Your local and state officials are as invested in finding who is responsible for these drones as you and I are.

CO has excellent video footage of the drones when they were out in CO. We have great data on the drones in our area. I won’t elaborate as I suspect that the company running these are monitoring public discussions on social media. We all want information, but do not be chasing the drones.

These drones are doing nothing but flying around. So why the big secret? Why do new stores put up paper in the windows so we can’t see what they are doing inside until the grand opening? They just don’t want us to know and as a drone expert pointed out by rules and regulations related to drone flight, they are not required too.

Now, if I was the CEO, seeing the negative impact it is having on a community I would be rethinking that idea as I know for one, that when it comes out who is behind this, I am not going to be involved in their product. It may be the best, but the tactic and position of secrecy they are taking is not helping any of us.

Their silence is requiring us, as intelligent human beings, to fill in the void of information with “what if”. That can make us uncomfortable. All of us, including me. Trying to find a solution, an answer. I had someone tell me not my circus, not my monkeys yesterday when I asked for their input. He is not part of our system in Clay County. Fine, his choice. People are all over the map on this. Those working this proactively, have the same lack of information we have and are building leads based on the information law enforcement and emergency managers are documenting.

I did step out of my lane today and suggested an investigative tactic that I as your emergency manager would like to see them utilize. I am consulting with many levels on our behalf, sharing our concerns, and working for answers.

Next steps:

The local, state, and federal task force is working in CO and NE. They are the lead agency on this I investigation and operation. We have been asked at the local level to move past the drones flying in our county, to tangible data.

1. Official observers are out and watching for drones and tracking their activity. We have an identified group working as a network here in Clay County and they are doing a great job. They share what they are seeing with me and we work together for this project. The seeing drones in the air is covered by the observation team.

2. New information came in last night associated with a helicopter landing in Harvard and activity in the Harvard area. No injuries, nothing out of what we have been seeing.
a. People did report on FB to me that they saw contrails in the sky behind the drones.
b. Flying in multiples close to town was new.
c. The helicopter was new and important and was reported.

3. You can call our Dispatch Center with unusual activity associated with the drones.
a. Keep in mind, our dispatch center is manned by one staff member.
b. When the drones arrived last night, our dispatcher was dealing with multiple calls about the drones, and other regular activity in the county.
c. When the helicopter landed, she was dealing with more 911 calls, officers out on contacts, and the drones.
d. She had to cook and serve dinner to the prisoners being housed in the CC jail.
e. We had a report of a drone go down in southeast Clay County. She had to notify us and several law enforcement officers and myself went to investigate. It was gone before we got there. At that same time a fire outside of a residence in Clay Center came in via 911. CC Fire responded and resolved that issue quickly. At the time this is going on as well officers were out with a male who was armed with a concealed handgun. And one of their radios stopped working and she could not raise him.

 

[Winston]

I think it's pretty stupid that no one that I've seen has used a camera with extreme zoom capability to really zoom in as could have been done with the hovering drone in the second video below.

Great video at link:

https://kdvr.com/2020/01/08/mysteri...on-resources-in-small-town-on-eastern-plains/

Also:

FBI investigating drones flying over Colorado and other states

 

[Winston]

Apparently multiple types involved:

CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Nighttime drone activity recorded in rural Saunders County

https://www.wowt.com/content/news/C...non-spotted-in-Saunders-County-566798651.html

6 News adjusted the brightness, contrast, and slowed down our video to confirm what we saw was in the shape of a plane, with lights attached to a single object.

Sightings of unclaimed drones flying in clusters and often in formation have been reported from Colorado to western Nebraska since December. On Monday, similar reports started popping closer to the Omaha-metro area.

Kennebeck said his first such sighting was on Monday.

"The first one was very close — I would say it was still 200 feet in the air, so I wouldn’t say I had a clear picture since it was dark with my naked eye," he said. "But with the binoculars, I was able to see — I was able to see at least one propeller. I’m sure there was more, but with the blue light flashing, I was at least able to tell it wasn’t one with wings; it was one with big propellers, and I can definitely make the outline of it."

Most objects spotted Tuesday were flying at 50 miles per hour, Kennenbeck said. All drones 6 News spotted with the Saunders County Sheriff’s Department were seen moving eastward.

 

[Winston]

With video:

Amid drone mystery, state-owned plane flew over northeast Colorado for 5 hours Monday night
JANUARY 7, 2020

https://kdvr.com/2020/01/07/state-o...or-5-hours-searching-for-drones-monday-night/

DENVER -- The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control confirmed the agency was involved in a joint operation [insert Colorado joke here - W] Monday night to investigate the source of “mystery drones” flying in northeastern Colorado.

“The joint operation found no verification of suspicious drones,” said Caley Fisher, a spokesperson for the department.

Fisher would not confirm whether the state agency used a state-owned Multi-Mission Aircraft, which is frequently used to assist in wildfire detection and providing “near real time” information about the fire to ground crews.

However, the FOX31 Problem Solvers have learned one of the state’s planes was flying last night in the area where drones had been reported.

“(The Colorado Department of Public Safety) consistently utilizes the expertise and resources of our divisions in efforts to assist our local and federal partners with ongoing investigations,” said Fisher.

The state’s Multi-Mission Aircraft includes two Pilatus PC-12 airplanes, according to the Division of Fire Prevention and Control’s website. Each is equipped with infrared and color sensors. According to the flight-plan tracking website, flightaware.com, one of the state planes was flying in circles northeastern Colorado for nearly five hours Monday night.

Fisher would not disclose what the plane was doing in that area.

“We do not discuss the investigative techniques or technology we’re using,” Fisher said. “We are actively monitoring reports of suspicious activity and will take action based on the level of activity and information being gathered by the (Colorado Information Analysis Center, a division of the state’s Department of Public Safety).”

“They were conducting as wide a search as possible for something. Now, whether it was for these drones or not remains to be seen," said Steve Cowell, an aviation expert. “We do know that these planes were up there flying certain patterns over the northeastern portion of the state.

 

[Chad]

couldn't you just shoot one down with a goose gun and then wait to see who comes pick up the pieces?

 

[Winston]

couldn't you just shoot one down with a goose gun and then wait to see who comes pick up the pieces?

According to the videos, people have threatened to do that, but are warned that it is, of course, illegal to do so.

Imagine how city dwellers will just simply love it when the skies are filled with delivery drones constantly buzzing over them trying to relax on their back yard chaise lounge. They'll dearly wish those never seen, but horribly dangerous nevertheless hobbyist RC flyers were back to owning that airspace instead.

Anyway, the drones' search is over now. They've found Heisenberg's RV lab. They had thought he was in New Mexico. Turns out, his battery had died while parked on the Colorado grasslands.

They've also located his Pontiac Aztek, one of the ten ugliest cars of all time.

Everyone is now going out for chicken:

 

[Chad]

According to the videos, people have threatened to do that, but are warned that it is, of course, illegal to do so.

heh even with the legality question, it's pretty surprising one hasn't been downed already. If this happened when I was a teen growing up out in the sticks they wouldn't have stood a chance between me and my friends.

 

[Winston]

heh even with the legality question, it's pretty surprising one hasn't been downed already. If this happened when I was a teen growing up out in the sticks they wouldn't have stood a chance between me and my friends.

Years ago I read about some guy in the US successfully shooting down a hobbyist drone over his property. I don't recall if he was prosecuted. Anyway, this current mystery sounds like some commercial or commercial/military operation using very expensive drones.

 

[Winston]

Just as we had the FAA-incited 2015 Christmas drone apocalypse hysteria eagerly propagated by a clueless media dying for sensationalist news and that DJI drone crashing onto the White House lawn in the middle of the night flown by an employee of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency just prior to the FAA's RC pilot registration ruling, we have these fleets of large mystery drones flying over remote areas of CO and NE at low altitudes without publicly readable transponders concurrent with an even more significant and far more restrictive hobbyist drone ruling by the FAA requiring... wait for it... transponders on any hobbyist RC aircraft weighing more than 250 grams flying at the same low altitudes (not in controlled airspace) as the mystery drones.

Interesting.

 

[Chad]

Just as we had the FAA-incited 2015 Christmas drone apocalypse hysteria eagerly propagated by a clueless media dying for sensationalist news and that DJI drone crashing onto the White House lawn in the middle of the night flown by an employee of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency just prior to the FAA's RC pilot registration ruling, we have these fleets of large mystery drones flying over remote areas of CO and NE at low altitudes without publicly readable transponders concurrent with an even more significant and far more restrictive hobbyist drone ruling by the FAA requiring... wait for it... transponders on any hobbyist RC aircraft weighing more than 250 grams flying at the same altitudes as the mystery drones.

Interesting.

On other forums, i've heard it could be oil/gas mapping drones but there's no way an energy company would be stupid enough to this without talking to the FAA first. If it is some commercial operation they've sealed their own fate. Once the mystery is solved, the FAA will unchain their attack lawyers.

 

[Winston]

On other forums, i've heard it could be oil/gas mapping drones but there's no way an energy company would be stupid enough to this without talking to the FAA first. If it is some commercial operation they've sealed their own fate. Once the mystery is solved, the FAA will unchain their attack lawyers.

There's nothing illegal about what is being done. NOTAMs aren't required for flying at those low altitudes and it could very well be that they are not flying any closer than 5 miles to any helipad or airport, also according to the rules.

THAT is why I think this is possibly being done not just for commercial or commercial/military/DHS purposes, but to grease the public opinion for the pending FAA requirement that hobbyist RC aircraft weighing over 250 grams carry transponders. The timing is too convenient. This could also be an official exercise to measure response.

 

[Chad]

There's nothing illegal about what is being done. NOTAMs aren't required for flying at those low altitudes and it could very well be that they are not flying any closer than 5 miles to any helipad or airport, also according to the rules.

THAT is why I think this is possibly being done not just for commercial or commercial/military/DHS purposes, but to grease the public opinion for the pending FAA requirement that hobbyist RC aircraft weighing over 250 grams carry transponders. The timing is too convenient. This could also be an official exercise to measure response.

possibly, i didn't think about that.

This is a comment i was going off of re: FAA. I dont know all the details of what is required by the FAA so probably shouldn't opine on anything heh

"If it is (or any other commercial surveying venture), and we take the FAA's statements at face value, then they're going to be in a world of hurt. AFAICT, commercial operation in the US (which absolutely covers surveying) requires a Part 107 certification, and if you are flying under Part 107 at night then you also require an FAA waiver. Since the FAA's statement implies they have no knowledge then they'll have a Federal agency on their ass if/when they get caught.

The size of the drones does imply an organizational element though, so my guess is that it's the DEA surveying for drugs (climate controlled grow-ops are easier to spot via IR at night, which would fit with the timing and hovering over buildings like the farm in TFS), and they would probably have enough pull to stage an op like this without an FAA spokesdroid being provided with the full facts. IIRC, not *all* of Nebraska is legal for grow ops, so if there's a correlation between "low" and "high" counties then that would almost certainly explain it, unless they're just trying to get a feel for the total crop across the entire state."

 

[Winston]

"If it is (or any other commercial surveying venture), and we take the FAA's statements at face value, then they're going to be in a world of hurt. AFAICT, commercial operation in the US (which absolutely covers surveying) requires a Part 107 certification, and if you are flying under Part 107 at night then you also require an FAA waiver. Since the FAA's statement implies they have no knowledge then they'll have a Federal agency on their ass if/when they get caught.

You need a Part 107 cert to fly commercially, but if you're flying where they're flying, at the altitudes they're flying, and not within 5 miles of an airport or helipad, you do not have to contact anyone to do that. A generic FAA night-fly-whenever-you-want waiver might be possible, but I don't know, that would not lead anyone to this specific event. I doubt the military or other fed government agencies are required to notify anyone about anything, especially for a classified exercise or operation, and especially if they are following all of the uncontrolled airspace rules I just mentioned.

 

[Winston]

Hmmm, looks like the aliens got to him... David Vincent once again continues his battle against the invaders alone...

Colorado sheriff's office rescinds calls to look for mystery drone 'command vehicle'
Jan 08, 2020

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/ne...lls-to-look-for-mystery-drone-command-vehicle

DENVER – The Phillips County sheriff on Wednesday took back his call for people in northeastern Colorado to look out for a possible command vehicle that might be piloting the mystery drones seen there in recent weeks.

On Monday, Phillips County Sheriff Tom Elliott and his office attended a meeting involving nearly 80 local and state law enforcement officials and representatives from other federal agencies at which the consortium created a task force to find out who was behind the drones and their purposes.

The office said after the meeting that the task force was looking for a command vehicle – likely a closed box trailer with antennas or a large van – that could be housing the drone operators.

But on Wednesday, the office wrote that the information about a possible command vehicle “is no longer pertinent or relevant.”

“The Phillips County Sheriff’s Office is not the task force and our jurisdiction does not extend past Phillips County Colorado. We will no longer be making any statements or press releases about the drone incidents. Thank you,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post.

 

[Winston]

Could it be mass delusions!? Would be truly funny if it was.

Colorado homeland security plane couldn’t find reported mystery drones
9 Jan 2020

https://www.canoncitydailyrecord.co...-homeland-security-plane-couldnt-find-drones/

Pilot reports of "drone" sightings are notoriously unreliable, in some cases turning out to be thermal-borne white plastic bags (I once made THAT mistake myself from the ground!). However:

Pilot says drone nearly ran into Flight for Life helicopter
The medical helicopter was on its way to Fort Morgan, an area where mystery drones have been spotted in recent weeks
Jan 8, 2020

https://www.9news.com/article/news/...opter/73-405c5291-d80e-4314-ab5d-ddf1b7bcef20

FORT MORGAN, Colo. — A Flight for Life medical helicopter pilot said they passed within 100 feet of a drone Tuesday while they were out on a routine medical call near Fort Morgan.

Peebles said the incident on Tuesday happened in a matter of seconds.

"A drone just went right under us," he said. "Probably about 100 feet."

He said it happened so fast, he couldn't even tell what kind of drone it was.

 

[BBowmaster]

I think it is embarrassing that we don’t have a definitive answer on who, what, and why yet. If it’s not a gov’t operation then we should know. What if the operators were bad actors? Terrorists mapping the area, dropping poisons or drugs, or something more sinister. If we can’t find something that’s not trying to hide, how could we find something actively trying to evade detection and capture?

 

[Winston]

I think it is embarrassing that we don’t have a definitive answer on who, what, and why yet. If it’s not a gov’t operation then we should know. What if the operators were bad actors? Terrorists mapping the area, dropping poisons or drugs, or something more sinister. If we can’t find something that’s not trying to hide, how could we find something actively trying to evade detection and capture?

All of the witnesses, including a drone professional, and the many videos... but a "Colorado homeland security plane" orbits over a small area and "couldn’t find reported mystery drones" and then a Colorado "sheriff's office rescinds calls to look for mystery drone 'command vehicle."

It's either an amazing and historic case of mass delusion or certain people have been "read into" what is actually going on and told "don't go there."

 

[Winston]

Mysterious Drones Now Being Spotted on the Outskirts of Denver
8 Jan 2020

 

[Winston]

Mysterious drones now appear in Southern Colorado (with video)
9 Jan 2020

https://krdo.com/news/2020/01/09/mysterious-drones-now-appear-in-southern-colorado/

SOUTHERN COLORADO (KRDO) -- It's an ongoing mystery in the skies: drones, flying in groups over Colorado. But who is flying them and why?
The reports started surfacing in the northern part of the state, but now they're here in Southern Colorado. Residents in Baca County have now caught their aerial activities on-camera.

Baca county:

 

[Winston]

Multi-Mission Aircraft flew for hours to spot drones, none detected
The plane flew over northeast Colorado for nearly five hours Monday evening, but did not detect any drones or substantiate any reports.
10:35 AM MST January 9, 2020

https://www.9news.com/article/news/...ected/73-f24f925b-e3ec-44af-b359-5e21aa04088a

The media were not allowed to enter the gathering in Brush, Colo., but representatives from 77 different agencies – including the military – were in attendance.

The plane was in the air for 4.8 hours, according to CDPS, and during that time was communicating with law enforcement vehicles on the ground.
As calls came in reporting potential suspicious drone activity on that evening, the MMA was prepared to identify which ground resource was closest to the sighting to deploy that vehicle in search of more information.

The aircraft typically flies 10,000 feet above ground level which is well above drone operations.

The MMA also has the capability to detect heat signatures, but did not detect any suspicious heat signatures or drones related to the drone reportings during its flight.

During the MMA flight, every report of a suspicious drone was investigated and was resolved, and none was substantiated.

 

[Winston]

In Curly Howard's voice, "Oh! look!":

CES 2020: Citing "mystery drones," US Transportation Secretary advocates new rules
The mysterious drones flying over Colorado and Nebraska offer a "timely illustration" of why drones should be equipped with remote IDs, the administration official said.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ces-2...transportation-secretary-advocates-new-rules/

As part of its efforts to safely integrate drones into US air space, the Federal Aviation Administration last month proposed a new rule that would require Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to be identifiable remotely. To understand why such a rule is needed, one only has to look to the sky in Colorado and Nebraska, where "mystery drones" have been flying in formation at night, US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said Wednesday.

The "mystery drones," she said at CES 2020, are "certainly a timely illustration of why remote IDs are needed."

 

[Greg Furtman]

Where are Mulder & Scully when we really need them?

 

[BBowmaster]

In Curly Howard's voice, "Oh! look!":

CES 2020: Citing "mystery drones," US Transportation Secretary advocates new rules
The mysterious drones flying over Colorado and Nebraska offer a "timely illustration" of why drones should be equipped with remote IDs, the administration official said.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ces-2...transportation-secretary-advocates-new-rules/

As part of its efforts to safely integrate drones into US air space, the Federal Aviation Administration last month proposed a new rule that would require Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to be identifiable remotely. To understand why such a rule is needed, one only has to look to the sky in Colorado and Nebraska, where "mystery drones" have been flying in formation at night, US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said Wednesday.

The "mystery drones," she said at CES 2020, are "certainly a timely illustration of why remote IDs are needed."

If this is a deliberate effort to promote panic or uncomfortableness in citizens to justify more regulation it is disgusting that our government should be so obvious about it and that citizens would fall for it.

In the 80s we (the US media and gov’t) derided the USSR for these type of underhanded propaganda.

It should go without saying that such a deception is clearly against our Constitution. Our government may withhold information from us, but they’re not supposed to lie.

 

[Daddyisabar]

It is either mass hysteria or a massive and maybe expanding search area. Like recovering Space Shuttle bits but this crash is secret!

 

[Daddyisabar]

Thanks guys for all the help recovering the upper stages of my upscale Estes MIRV. I had no idea in my mindsim they could drift that far. From now on I promise to use only motors that come in boxes labeled Toy Rocket Propellant on the side. AND no more three way drag races with rockets named Satellite Destroyer and Broken Arrow. Oh, I get to ride back in the big blacked out SUV! YIPPEE!

 

[Chad]

If this is a deliberate effort to promote panic or uncomfortableness in citizens to justify more regulation it is disgusting that our government should be so obvious about it and that citizens would fall for it.

In the 80s we (the US media and gov’t) derided the USSR for these type of underhanded propaganda.

It should go without saying that such a deception is clearly against our Constitution. Our government may withhold information from us, but they’re not supposed to lie.

i doubt it's deliberate but it's certainly sounds like it's being used that way.

*sigh*
Government, if you think our problems are bad just wait until you see our solutions!

 

[Winston]

I'm beginning to suspect that in at least some cases involving smaller drones that are not internal combustion engine powered (obvious from their sound in the videos) that some mischievous hobbyist drone operators may be getting into the act, stupid kids (or childish adults) not aware of how their actions are feeding into the pending FAA rules which they may not even be aware of.

Examples:

Drone sightings increase in Central Nebraska
Jan 7, 2020

https://www.theindependent.com/news...cle_ec3f64ca-318c-11ea-bf6d-e3095a1a24a5.html

Excerpt:

Meanwhile, local residents are seeing many drones in the area after dark.

Matt Beard of Grand Island said he and a friend were traveling north on North Road when they saw a drone suddenly drop down near them, hover for about 30 seconds, then take off.

Beard said they followed the drone, which was flying fast, and it took them to the Alda Road where it headed southwest toward Kenesaw.

The two men went to the RC airport to see if they could find an operator, but there was no one there, and the drone had flown out of sight.

Sara Yount was in Twisters parking lot and joked to her daughter to keep an eye out for drones after Yount’s friend said she saw some in the South Locust area.

Yount’s daughter said she thought she saw three, but Yount thought they were stars.

“Then they started moving and I realized they weren’t stars,” said Yount.

Yount and her daughter continued to watch when her daughter saw another drone.

“Mom, look, there’s a really big one!”

Yount said the drone looked like it had a six-foot wingspan and was moving very slow and was low.

“It just looked like it was going down Locust,” said Yount.

Krystal O’Brien said that around 8:30 p.m. Monday night she and her boyfriend saw a drone on 11th Street.

“It was very bright and moving at a fairly good speed going east,” said O’Brien.

They saw two more identical looking objects toward 13th Street.

Amanda Jewett of Genoa said she and her husband watched four drones for a couple hours late Monday night.

Jewett said before she saw them, she was thinking the whole thing was a hoax.

When she and her husband saw the drones out of their picture window, however, she knew it wasn’t.

“Last night is something me and my husband will never forget,” Jewett said.

 

[Daddyisabar]

Copy cat kids would be a great cover story to shift blame to the hobbyists and buy more time for the real operation. Get one shot down, kids in custody, the local news will shift focus for at least a few more days.

 

[Winston]

i doubt it's deliberate but it's certainly sounds like it's being used that way.

No, it's intentional, but it's not even necessarily being done with the knowledge of the FAA. Someone else is simply helping them with their cause - I'd guess a commercial/military or commercial/DHS scheduled exercise. But the timing is just too damned convenient wouldn't you say?

Also, it's the second example of hysteria being whipped up just prior to a statistically unjustified (as I have shown in another thread) FAA power grab within the RC hobbyist domain. Just prior to the RC pilot registration ruling there was the FAA-incited "airliners YOU are flying on will be falling out of the sky from hitting drones" 2015 Christmas drone apocalypse hysteria eagerly whipped up by a clueless media looking for sensational stories with their hyper-sensitive reporting on every drone incident like, for instance, the very rare, truly newsworthy crashing in the middle of the night of a DJI drone onto the White House lawn by an employee of the National Geo-spacial Intelligence Agency who was found only because he turned himself in. The BS "safety" hysteria then was bought into even by many within the RC hobby who said "It's only $5..." and complied with the FAA's foot-in-the-door which, almost exactly four years later, we see the results of that some of us warned about.

Now, as I just posted above, a new hysteria begins just prior to an even more intrusive rule by the FAA and is paying off, begun with drones that were obviously not hobbyist drones but now, as they could easily have expected and counted on, joined in on by clueless kids and childish adults who appear to be flying hobbyist drones at night, thereby reinforcing the "validity" of the FAA's pending rules in the eyes of the, as usual, mostly clueless general public.

Once again, very clever moves... No sweat for me, I no longer fly RC, I just don't like being played for stupid...

Back in 2015 prior to the RC pilot registration ruling, I posted a YouTube video of a sped-up sequence recorded from a drone showing that drone herding sheep scared of it with the comical Benny Hill theme song as the sound track. Unfortunately, I can no longer find it.