Officials Seek Answers for Mysterious Drone Sightings
Fort Morgan, Colo. – Groups of drones have been spotted buzzing over rural parts of northeastern Colorado and western Nebraska for weeks, unnerving residents. Federal officials are working with state and local authorities to determine who is behind the mysterious nighttime flights.
Sheriff David Martin of Morgan County, Colorado, hosted a closed-door meeting with law enforcement agencies and government officials last Monday to talk about the recent sightings.
The drones reportedly have 6-foot wingspans and fly in grid-like patterns hundreds of feet in the air in groups of six to 10.
The Federal Aviation Administration, Drug Enforcement Administration, Air Force and U.S. Army Forces Command have said they do not have information about the aircraft.
“We take every drone-sighting report seriously,” the FAA said in a statement. “Multiple FAA divisions are working closely with federal, state and local stakeholders to try to determine whether the reported sightings in Colorado and Nebraska are drones and, if so, who is operating them and for what reason.”
The FAA said it has contacted drone test site operators and drone companies but has not determined if they were behind the flights. The agency also has been in touch with several airports in the area, warning pilots to be cautious and asking them to report sightings.
Nebraska officials in Hall, Buffalo and Adams counties said drones had been reported flying overhead last Sunday evening.
“Nebraskans are rightly concerned about the recent drone activity,” U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska said in a release last Tuesday. “An investigation is underway and the best thing Nebraskans can do right now is continue to report any drone sightings to law enforcement.”
Grand Island Police Capt. Jim Duering said the drones spotted by officers flying over Grand Island didn’t appear to be involved in criminal activity, but they aren’t registered locally so it remains a mystery who is flying them. Duering said the drones appeared to be large, commercial models that would require a license to operate.
Hastings Police Capt. Mike Doremus said a pilot reported seeing several drones flying in a grid formation about 2 miles west of Hastings around 9 p.m. Sunday. Buffalo County Sheriff Neil Miller said three reports of drones flying in his county came in between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Sunday. Miller said deputies are tracking the locations of the reports to try to identify the drones’ operators.
Meanwhile, the Phillips County Sheriff’s Office in northeastern Colorado posted on Facebook that a task force has been organized and is asking the public to be on the lookout for a “command vehicle” that is operating the drones.
The vehicle could be a closed box trailer with antennas or a large van that seems out of place.
It appears that no laws are being broken. Drone pilots are not required to file flight plans unless they are in controlled airspace, such as near an airport.
Phillips County Sheriff Thomas Elliott told The Denver Post in December that the drones remain about 200 to 300 feet in the air and fly steadily in square patterns of about 25 miles.
“They’ve been doing a grid search, a grid pattern,” he said. “They fly one square and then they fly another square.”
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