Mysterious drones in New York temporarily shut down an Orange County airport runway, a frustrated governor said, calling for federal help and declaring “it’s gone too far.”
New York’s Stewart International Airport was forced to close the runway for about an hour Friday night “due to drone activity in the airspace,” Gov. Cathy Hochul said in a statement.
A spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the airport received a report of the drone sighting from the Federal Aviation Administration at about 9:40 p.m. Friday. The runways reopened at 10:45 p.m., the spokesperson said. Flights were not affected by the closure.
“It’s gone too far,” Hochul said.
The drones are gone. Seen in New York, New Jersey.and other North-Eastern states, giving rise to concern and confusion. Some lawmakers, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. And Reps. Chris Smith and Jeff Van Drew, Republicans of New Jersey, have called on the military to shoot him. However, experts have asked to shoot them. poses a security risk and is illegal..
Hochul said he directed the New York State Intelligence Center to actively investigate the sightings and coordinate with federal law enforcement agencies to deal with the drones. The governor said that efforts are on.
“But to allow state law enforcement agencies to work on this problem, I am now calling on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act.” “This bill would reform legal authorities to combat UAS and strengthen the FAA’s oversight of drones, and expand counter-UAS activities to select state and local law enforcement agencies.”
“These powers must be extended to New York State and our colleagues. Until these powers are available to state and local authorities, the Biden administration would direct additional federal law enforcement agencies in New York and the surrounding area. Steps must be taken to ensure the safety of our critical infrastructure and our people,” Hochul added.
The White House has said it has “no evidence at this time that the alleged drone sightings pose a threat to national security or public safety, or have a foreign nexus.” Officials have said drones flying over New Jersey in the past few weeks appear to be commercial, not recreational.
During an interagency background call Saturday, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security official reiterated that there is no evidence that public safety is at risk.
An FAA official said it was not illegal to fly drones in US airspace, while a Federal Bureau of Investigation official said there had been a “slight overreaction” to drone sightings.
“We believe the drone sightings reported were, in fact, misidentified as drones,” the DHS official said in the call. “To date there has been no evidence of foreign involvement in sending drones ashore from naval vessels in the region.”