The Federal Aviation Administration has temporarily banned drone flights over nearly two dozen New Jersey communities since Wednesday, its website shows.
Twenty-two municipalities have the restrictions for “security” reasons. Fourteen of the towns are under the New York air traffic control center’s jurisdiction, while the Washington, D.C., center has eight.
“Unmanned aerial systems,” or drones, are banned under the restrictions. Impacted communities include Jersey City, Camden, Edison and Hamilton.
The restrictions are in effect until Jan. 17.
On Tuesday, the FAA, FBI, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security said in a joint statement that drones reported over the last several weeks do not represent any safety risk in New Jersey.
“Having closely examined the technical data and tips from concerned citizens, we assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones,” the statement reads.
“We have not identified anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast,” the remarks continue.
New Jersey officials have expressed concern over recent drone sightings in the state, including Gov. Phil Murphy. The governor released a letter written to President Joe Biden last week about the drones, referred to as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the note.
“The proliferation of this technology has introduced additional risks to public safety, privacy, and homeland security, while state and local law enforcement entities remain hamstrung by existing laws and policies to successfully counteract them, leaving action around UAS squarely on the shoulders of the federal government,” Gov. Murphy wrote.
In the FAA’s joint statement, the bodies said they “recognize the concern among many communities.”
“We continue to support state and local authorities with advanced detection technology and support of law enforcement,” the statement continues. “We urge Congress to enact counter-UAS legislation when it reconvenes that would extend and expand existing counter-drone authorities to identify and mitigate any threat that may emerge.”
Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.