Orange County officials call for all personal drones to be grounded during surveillance opp during evenings this week
County Executive Steve Neuhaus told News 12 Tuesday expert drone teams are stationed around the county, ready to respond to any reports of suspicious drone sightings Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
Orange County officials are asking the public to ground all their personal drones for at least the next two nights, while the US military and local police investigate suspicious drone activity over the county.
County Executive Steve Neuhaus told News 12 Tuesday expert drone teams are stationed around the county, ready to respond to any reports of suspicious drone sightings Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
Neuhaus said that in the last week there have been hundreds of reported sightings of the large drones, mostly near the airports in Montgomery and New Windsor.
Neuhaus is seeking information directly from the drones themselves, even though US Homeland Security officials have told him the aircrafts do not pose a risk and some might planes that were mistaken for drones.
In a Zoom interview Tuesday Neuhaus said that even if the drones are not being used for sinister reasons, the drones could still disrupt air traffic or even malfunction and fall.
"They're so large, they're required to be registering their flight plans with the FAA, and they're not," Neuhaus said. "That's the part that's making people say, 'Okay, you got your lights on. Now who in the heck are you?'"
Orange County is working with the state and federal governments on the nighttime surveillance operation.
"We're going to do some stuff tonight with surveillance and see what comes our way," Neuhaus said.
Neuhaus said that since drone activity shut down air traffic at Stewart International Airport in New Windsor Saturday, he has been receiving increased support from the federal government, particularly with the current surveillance operation.
Over the coming nights, anyone who sees a suspicious drone that is close to critical infrastructure, like a bridge or reservoir, is asked to call 911 or their local police department right away.
Anyone who sees a suspicious drone *not* close to infrastructure, is asked to report it to the FBI tipline at 800-CALL-FBI.
