Emily Calandrelli of West Virginia has entered the national discussion about sightings of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (drones) over New Jersey.
Calandrelli posted a Reel on her Facebook page on December 17 that discussed a scientific explanation about what was going on with all of the drone sightings.
According to Calandrelli, some of the alleged drone sightings were actually “crude aircraft.”
“Because, all of a sudden, when people are on the lookout for drones, things in the sky start to look like drones,” Calandrelli explained, citing the Baader-Meinhof occurrence.
Calandrelli stated, “The frequency illusion is another name for the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon.”
“If you start to look for something, you’ll begin to find more of it, whether or not there is in fact more of it,” according to Calandrelli.
She compared the drone sightings to UFO sightings during the Cold War, when Americans feared an aerial invasion.
“They began to look up, and all of a sudden started to see more things in the sky,” according to Calandrelli.
Although Calandrelli did not have an answer for the drone sightings, she did remark that there are over a million registered drones in the United States, and this may be the product of “irresponsible teenagers having fun creating chaos.”
Furthermore, Calandrelli stated that “shooting a drone is a federal felony. It is considered an aircraft, and shooting it down is a federal violation. So maybe you shouldn’t do it.
On December 17, the US Department of Defense released a news release stating that the FBI is investigating over 5,000 reported drone sightings. The majority of these sightings were of permitted drones or other aircraft.
“We have deployed superior detection technology in the region. And we’ve sent trained visual observers,” according to the news release.” After carefully reviewing the technical data and tips from concerned citizens, we believe the sightings to date include a mix of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones.
We have found no anomalies and do not believe the behavior to yet poses a national security or public safety danger over civilian airspace in New Jersey or other northeastern states.”
The first drone sightings over New Jersey occurred on November 18.
In a December 13 post on Truth Social, President-elect Donald Trump asserted that there have been “mystery drone sightings all over the country.”
“Is this truly happening without our government’s knowledge? “I do not think so!” Trump wrote. “Let the people know right now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!”
As of December 16, the FBI Newark and the New Jersey State Police issued a press statement requesting that the public not shoot or point lasers at Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
“FBI Newark and New Jersey State Police want to warn the public about an increase in pilots of manned aircraft being hit in the eyes with lasers because people on the ground think they see an Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS),” claimed a news release. “There is also danger that individuals may fire firearms at what they believe is a UAS but is actually a manned aircraft.
For several weeks, the FBI Newark, the NJSP, and hundreds of other agencies and law enforcement partners have been working every night to legitimately track down operators behaving illegally or with evil intent, using every possible tool and piece of technology to get the answers the public seeks.
However, if human aircraft are incorrectly identified as UAS, the implications could be hazardous and even fatal.
