Well, well, well… if it isn’t yet another contradicting drone story.
Mere days after New Jersey’s governor told us to “calm down,” and shortly after experts suggested residents weren’t actually seeing drones in the first place, officials are now temporarily banning drone operations over portions of the state. Hmmm, I wonder why.
The FAA Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) stated that they will be banning drones until mid-January and will respond to any threatening drones with “deadly force” if they present an “imminent security threat.”
“At the request of federal security partners, the FAA published 22 Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) prohibiting drone flights over critical New Jersey infrastructure,” the FAA said in a statement today.
New Jersey Issues Flight Restrictions for Drones
According to a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, these flight restrictions were issued “out of an abundance of caution.”
“We continue to assess there is no public safety threat relating to the reported drone sightings,” the spokesperson said. “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 some critical infrastructure facilities in New Jersey.”
The temporary ban has been placed in the following areas: Jersey City, Bayonne, Elizabeth, Harrison, Kearny, Edison, Bridgewater, Cedar Grove, Hamilton, North and South Brunswick, Branchburg, Woodbridge, Clifton, Westampton, Winslow, Gloucester City and Camden. The existing restrictions in Bedminster and near the Army’s Picatinny Arsenal are still in place.
According to the alert, anyone flying a drone in the restricted airspace will risk being “detained and interviewed by law enforcement/security personnel.”
New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), who has criticized the government’s lack of transparency on the issue, spoke with the New York Post about this temporary drone ban.
“First, we were told these drones were real but supposedly not a threat. Then we were told there were no drones at all, just unconfirmed sightings. After that, we were assured they were merely recreational drones, nothing to worry about,” Van Drew said.
“Now, in the latest twist, despite claims now that there are no drones, we suddenly have flight restrictions in place over sensitive areas and authorization for the use of deadly force,” he continued. “It’s absurd, it’s contradictory, and it’s unacceptable.”
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The post Drone Flights Banned in New Jersey, FAA Threatens to Use ‘Deadly Force’ appeared first on VICE.
