Some drone enthusiasts are accusing the Federal Aviation Administration and the media using the panic around mysterious drone sightings to approve stricter regulations.
Hysteria began to swirl in December as reports of at least 17 drones flying ‘nighttime search patterns’ over northern Colorado, emerged, according to the Denver Post.
At the time, Phillips County Sheriff Thomas Elliott told the publication that ‘the drones stay about 200 feet to 300 feet in the air’ from 7pm to 10pm nightly.
Nobody, including Colorado authorities, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FAA, the Air Fore, the U.S. Army or the Department of Defense were able to shed light on the unexplained phenomenon.
In December, reports of at least 17 mysterious drones flying over northern Colorado emerged with no explanation
Phillips County Sheriff Thomas Elliott told the publication that ‘the drones stay about 200 feet to 300 feet in the air’ from 7pm to 10pm nightly
According to Vice, parts of the drone community are questioning the reports and are even pointing fingers at the FAA.
They say the most recent wave a drone hysteria coincides with a recent proposal from the FAA that would require private drone owners to be identified on a central database by a unique identifier and GPS coordinates sent via cellular signal.
The policy would allow drones to be tracked by the government, but would not apply to recreational drones that weigh less than 0.55 pounds.
Several users, who believe the move will devastate their hobby, suggest that the FAA has capitalizing on national media coverage is one way to garner support.
The FAA has reportedly been consulting figures in the drone community for years, but the potential rule is not popular with enthusiasts.
Loretta Alkalay, a former FAA lawyer turned aviation attorney who’s also a drone enthusiast, said the media reports: ‘seem to harken back to the “old” days when there was so much media sensationalism and scaremongering with any drone sighting.’
Alkalay said that there is a history of media outlets accepting alleged drone sighting without much evidence, only for investigators to later debunk the claims entirely.
DJI, a major drone manufacturer, backed up these Alkalay’s point with a report showing ten cases of mainstream hysteria and the official fact check by official investigators.
Loretta Alkalay says the media reports, ‘seem to harken back to the “old” days when there was so much media sensationalism and scaremongering with any drone sighting’
One such instance involved a pilot reportedly striking a drone around 20 miles from the O’Hare International Airport in Illinois.
The FAA found that the pilot had struck and killed a bird, not collided with a drone.
In April, a British Airways pilot said he slammed into a drone near Heathrow Airport, only for the UK transport secretary to say it was more likely a plastic bag.
The DIJ further asserts that this is indicative of a larger trend where pilots falsely report nearly any unidentified object in the sky as a drone.
The manufacturer also refers to a study by the Academy of Model Aeronautics, which analyzed all reports of sightings as of August 2015 and found only 27 of 764 reports were legitimate drone interactions.
DJI spokesman Adam Lisberg told Vice: ‘From our perspective, this illustrates why you should take concerns about drones with a real big grain of salt, because who knows what you’re really seeing?’
Lisberg said: ‘Without an independent confirmation or measurement, it’s a lousy way to try and make policy on how drones should be identified.’
Furthermore, it appears none of the alleged drone sightings in Colorado turned up any real evidence.
One resident in Washington County, Colorado, said he captured a photo of the unexplained drones flying across the northern part of the state in December (pictured)
After a string reports, sightings and failed attempts to record the drones, the Colorado Department of Public Safety flew an aircraft capable of detecting heat signatures over the area in question.
A nearly five hour flight found nothing amiss.
The Colorado Springs Gazette wondered if a nearby Air Force base in Cheyenne conducted drone operations, but the Air Force later admitted to having nothing to do with it.
Since, a joint task drone force of as much as 15 separate agencies were put together after 70 local, state, federal and military officials met in Colorado.
Although no one has been able to positively identify the puzzling reports, hobbyists and law enforcement are attempting to move forward best as possible.
Yuma County Sheriff Todd Combs said on Facebook: ‘All I can say is don’t live your life in the fear of the unknown. Take life as it comes, be proactive on issues when you can and be thankful for the place we call home, Yuma County.’
Sean Wendland, a drone enthusiast in Sacramento, California, questioned if identifying the objects was even relevant.
‘The question is do authorities NEED to know what it is? Is it causing any harm? Has it created danger? Do Americans NEED to know what it is? I would argue no, not at the cost of freedom,’ Wendland said.