Drones are swarming over Colorado and Nebraska at night. Authorities say they have no idea why

[shakey1]

The drones appear after dark, flying in formation over swaths of land in rural Colorado and Nebraska. For weeks, they have dominated headlines in local newspapers, fueled intense speculation on social media and unsettled residents, who have flooded law enforcement with calls.

So far, the aircraft remain a mystery. Officials in multiple counties say they have not been able to determine who is flying them or why. The Federal Aviation Administration is now investigating, an agency spokesman told The Washington Post on Thursday.


In the absence of information, wild theories abound in the small communities where the drones have been spotted, including government surveillance and alien activity. Others offered less-nefarious explanations, suggesting a private company is using them to map or survey land or, perhaps, practicing for drone shows.
“There are many theories about what is going on, but at this point, that’s all they are,” Sheriff Todd Combs of Yuma County, Colo., wrote in a Facebook post. “I think we are all feeling a little bit vulnerable due to the intrusion of our privacy that we enjoy in our rural community, but I don’t have a solution or know of one right now.”

The drones, described by the Denver Post as having six-foot wingspans and numbering at least 17, showed up in mid-December in northeastern Colorado. They emerge nightly around 7 p.m., flying in squares of about 25 miles and staying about 200 feet in the air, the newspaper reported. By about 10 p.m., they’re gone.

Local authorities say the mysterious visitors do not appear to be malicious and may not be breaking any laws. Combs noted in his post that they are operating in airspace controlled by the federal government and, as far as he could tell, abiding with federal regulations.

Yet the unexplained aircraft, buzzing above homes nightly, have still caused alarm — so much so that officials with multiple sheriff’s departments have cautioned residents against shooting them down.

“I have been made aware of several comments about shooting down a drone,” Morgan County, Colo., Sheriff Dave Martin said in a statement. “I ask that you NOT do this as it is a federal crime.”

Wyatt Harmon and his girlfriend, Chelsea Arnold, chased a cluster of drones after they flew over his property in the Colorado county of Washington. The couple tailed them for 15 miles, exceeding 70 mph, according to the “Today” show, which featured an interview with the two on Dec. 31.


Harmon said during the interview that the aircraft could descend and take off “very fast.”

“It’s kind of just scary,” Arnold added. “It’s more unnerving than anything.”

Another Colorado resident, Haley Harms, told Denver’s 9 News she is organizing a team of “drone watchers” to monitor the activity. She hopes that mapping the drone appearances might help answer the question of what they’re doing and where they might turn up next.

Groups devoted to tracking the drones have also popped up on Facebook.

“When you put on the landscape blinking lights and fleets of things doing patterns over my fields, that doesn’t make me comfortable at all,” said Harms, who lives in an area so remote she can hear trucks miles away. “It’s curious that no one seems to know why or who or what.”


The FAA is considering a rule requiring most drones to be identifiable. Spokesman Ian Gregor told the New York Times the timing of the proposed regulation, which was announced Dec. 26, was coincidental. It would allow drones to be tracked remotely, which would provide “critical information to law enforcement and other officials charged with ensuring public safety,” the agency said in a summary of the proposal.

In his Facebook post, Combs wrote that drone technology was outpacing the passage of rules, describing the existing ones as “very vague” and calling for new “common sense” regulation. He said he was “as frustrated as you are” by the lack of answers.

“These drones have made residents in our community very nervous and anxious,” he wrote. “People do not like the unknown as it upsets the balance of our lives.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/tran...-night-authorities-say-they-have-no-idea-why/

 

[shakey1]

This has been going on for about a week now.

[video=youtube;b1ZAXxH_GyM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=14&v=b1ZAXxH_GyM&feature=emb_l ogo[/video]

 

[shakey1]

After more reading on this, it’s been going on for a couple weeks or more... no one stepping forward, no clues as to their purpose. These are more than just hobby drones... a complete mystery thus far.

 

[Anti Globalist]

Everyone in those states should be shooting down these drones whenever they see them. Whatever the purpose of these drones are, they are most likely being used for evil purposes.

 

[shakey1]

Sitings continue with no explanation.

[h=1]Secret Gov’t. Task Force About Mystery Drones in Colorado and Nebraska: No Explanations.[/h]“We’re desperately trying to figure out what is going on.”
— Captain Michael Yowell, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Hugo, Colorado, Jan. 2, 2020
“We are still working together to try to determine what exactly it is that people are reporting seeing, and if it’s drones, who the operator is.”
— Ian Gregor, Spokesman for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Jan. 8, 2020, that authorities have still not figured out the source of the drones

https://www.earthfiles.com/2020/01/...nes-in-colorado-and-nebraska-no-explanations/

... now moving eastward...

 

[CoastieInColorado]

Local authorities say the mysterious visitors do not appear to be malicious and may not be breaking any laws. Combs noted in his post that they are operating in airspace controlled by the federal government and, as far as he could tell, abiding with federal regulations.

It's not legal to fly a drone at night without FAA waiver.

“I have been made aware of several comments about shooting down a drone,” Morgan County, Colo., Sheriff Dave Martin said in a statement. “I ask that you NOT do this as it is a federal crime.”

So is operating a drone at night, or over private property without permission.

Fly a drone over our property, and it's coming down, fed laws or not. You can't fly over private property, or people, without their consent.

There's even apps for drones now that can accurately figure out watering and even accurately figure out fertilizing of a field.

 

[shakey1]

It's not legal to fly a drone at night without FAA waiver.



So is operating a drone at night, or over private property without permission.

Fly a drone over our property, and it's coming down, fed laws or not. You can't fly over private property, or people, without their consent.

There's even apps for drones now that can accurately figure out watering and even accurately figure out fertilizing of a field.

Has anyone in your neck of the woods seen anything yet?

 

[CoastieInColorado]

Has anyone in your neck of the woods seen anything yet?

Not that I've heard, and I go out 2-3 times per night and have quite a view out here, and it's because of that openness that it would be difficult to do out here where I am, "most" drones the size described only have a 3-5 mile range one way. There's no mountains around me for 60 miles so I'd easily spot a car parked within range during my normal routine of checking the highway at night for parked cars.

Besides, without thermal capabilities, it would be impossible to fly at night without spotters and some sort of auto pilot(right?).

There are drone apps that can accurately map terrain and even figure out watering and feeding cycles of a farm-but they only work during the day, so I think it's just a bunch hobby guys fucking around.

Or, its aliens.

 

[pcosmar]

I will again suggest Target Practice... Not with Projectile weapons,,as the projectile will return to earth..

A Magnatron ,and a power inverter to power it... Common microwave oven heart..

Drone Defense,,that even the military is admitted using.

It will drop a drone.

 

[Danke]

Everyone in those states should be shooting down these drones whenever they see them. Whatever the purpose of these drones are, they are most likely being used for evil purposes.

I'll sue you.

 

[Zippyjuan]

One sighting was said to be a Flight for Life helicopter. 14 were traced to hobbyists playing around. 19 were identified as planets, stars, or commercial aircraft. Four were confirmed drones but the operator not identified. (Video report at link with this data). One utility company confirms using them to inspect lines. Denver television station reports.

https://denver.cbslocal.com/2020/01/15/drones-power-lines-uav-recon-eastern-plains/

WELD COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) – Companies working with drones in the Eastern Plains say the technology is an important advancement helping industries like electrical utilities operate more efficiently and pass on savings to their customers. They have operated in the region for years including where some in the area were worried about suspicious activity at night involving drones.

“We’re over 10 times faster than the traditional method,” said Dusty Birge, the president of UAV Recon. “We’re not reducing the importance or need for a lineman, what we’re doing is making their work more efficient.”

Birge started the company a few years ago when he realized utilities could benefit from drones checking power lines saving time and money. UAV Recon contracts with clients primarily in Colorado and Nebraska to capture photos and video of their infrastructure. A team of two drone pilots can travel by truck along power line grids using drones to capture a 360-degree view of poles. Linemen can then access the media online using Birge’s other company, Volt, to examine structures for any maintenance needs.

Most of their work is done during the day and out of sight but some of it, involving substations and special sensors does require night flights. But his company issued a statement explaining they were not responsible for the suspicious sightings reported to law enforcement between November and January in northeastern Colorado.

More at link.

 

[Swordsmyth]

https://twitter.com/paulmuaddib61/status/1214190290548019201

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1214190290548019201.html

Go there to read the thread.