Interactive map reveals mystery drone hotspots as FBI issues warning
An interactive map has revealed hundreds of sightings of mysterious drones and unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) in the North East.
Since mid-November, the region has been plagued by an ongoing, inexplicable ‘drone invasion’. The unidentified planes have been reported in multiple states, prompting a federal investigation that has yet to yield answers.
“The FBI has received tips regarding more than 5,000 reported drone sightings in recent weeks, generating approximately 100 leads,” said a joint statement from the agency and several other federal agencies released Tuesday.
The map, created by the commercial UFO sighting alert network Enigma, collects reports from residents of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and other states made in November and December.
Paul Sprieser, a 56-year-old captain and New Jersey resident, is one of many whose eyewitness accounts are included on the map.
He does not believe all the sightings can be explained by commercial aircraft or other sanctioned activity, as federal officials have suggested.
“A large percentage of them are not commercial aircraft, like these stationary objects in the sky, the size of an SUV, hanging out there for five, six hours, seven hours,” Sprieser told DailyMail.com.
State and local officials are echoing the concerns of their residents and demanding answers from the federal government as this bizarre phenomenon appears to be spreading to new areas.
Some citizens have already begun to take matters into their own hands, according to officials.
In a stern warning to the public, New Jersey State Police and the FBI’s Newark office have urged the public to stop efforts to shoot down the state’s mysterious drones.
“We’re seeing an increase in manned aircraft pilots getting hit in the eyes with lasers because people on the ground think they’re seeing a drone,” said Nelson Delgado, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Newark office. in a video message.
“We are also concerned that people will take matters into their own hands and fire a weapon at an aircraft,” Acting SAIC Delgado added.
“Not only is this act against the law,” the FBI official noted, “but it also poses an incredible danger to the pilots and passengers of those planes.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the spate of laser incidents this Sunday – the result of citizen investigators streaming into the night with laser pointers and other technology in hopes of solving NJ’s months-long UFO mystery itself.
The drone sightings began in mid-November when drones were spotted over the US Army’s Picatinny Arsenal and President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster – both in New Jersey.
In the weeks that followed, similar drones were reported across the state, especially in and around Morris County, and have since spread to other states in the region.
Sprieser first saw one from his home in North Bergen, New Jersey.
On December 7, Sprieser was alerted to a UAP flying near his home in North Bergen, New Jersey, by a device that can “detect changes in magnetic fields or electromagnetic radiation.”
He was alerted to the object by a device that can “detect changes in magnetic fields or electromagnetic radiation,” which he had purchased around the time the observations began.
On the evening of Dec. 7, “an alarm suddenly goes off and warns that an event is happening,” Sprieser said.
He stepped onto the deck and saw an “orange sphere” that was about 500 to 800 feet in the air and “rising approximately 55 degrees in an easterly direction.”
Sprieser saw another object – which he identified as a commercial airliner – flying beneath the orange sphere. Although he could hear the sound of the plane, the sphere did not make any audible noise, he said.
He filmed the unidentified object until it passed over his apartment building and disappeared from view.
“And a few minutes later a second one went by,” he added.
About a week later, on December 13, Sprieser saw another UAP.
This time he visited his parents’ home in Morris County, where many of the recent drone sightings have occurred.
He happened to be looking up at the sky when he saw an object floating at a height he estimated at 2,000 feet.
‘At a certain point you saw it drop rapidly. It went from about 2,000 feet to below tree line, and then back up again,” Sprieser said, adding that the object remained in the area for three hours.
The UAP “illuminated red and green,” similar to the port and starboard lights of a commercial airliner.
But the lights on this strange plane were alternating green and red on the same side, which is not typical for a commercial plane, Sprieser explained.
He also noted that every time a commercial airliner flew by, the lights on the UAP would turn off and come back on as soon as it passed.
Later that evening, Sprieser said he also saw “a bright white flash, faster than a bolt of lightning going horizontally above the tree line, like a blur.”
Since mid-November, the northeastern US has been plagued by an ongoing, inexplicable ‘drone invasion’. The unidentified aircraft have been reported in several cases
The FBI and other agencies are investigating the strange activity, but a Department of Homeland Security representative said Wednesday, December 11, “We no longer have any information about where these drones are coming from, where they’re coming from, where they’re coming from. they land’
The flying objects (example above) are larger than drones used by hobbyists, witnesses have noted, raising questions about their proximity to critical infrastructure and sensitive sites
He initially thought it was his imagination, but later saw similar posts on social media from other residents in the area around the time of the incident.
Bizarre, unidentified sightings like Sprieser’s have sent New Jerseyans and local officials into a frenzy in recent weeks. And because the federal government has not shared any new information from the investigation, tensions have risen.
In a joint statement released Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), along with the FBI, FAA and the Department of Defense (DOD), doubled down on their claim that the recent drone sightings are a mix of professional and amateur drones and incorrect information. reports.
“After carefully examining technical data and tips from concerned citizens, we have concluded that sightings to date include a combination of legal commercial drones, hobbyist drones and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and wrongly stars. reported as drones,” the statement read.
“We have not identified anything abnormal and do not assess the activity to date as a risk to national security or public safety.”
But many state and local officials don’t believe this explanation.
In an interview with Fox News, journalist and author Michael Shellenberger said he had obtained it a recording of the White House drone briefing for New Jersey mayors, including the FBI, DHS and FAA.
‘The mayors are furious. One of them came up there and said, ‘I had two drones the size of a car hanging over my house,'” Shellenberger told Fox News commentator Jesse Watters.
On Saturday, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul stated, “I will do whatever it takes to ensure New Yorkers stay safe,” in a post on X.
“New York is investigating these incidents, but the federal government must give us the authority to deal directly with the drones,” she added.
Other state representatives have called on the US military to shoot down the drones.
“We now have the opportunity to shoot them down, but in a place where there is no threat to anyone on the ground. Just do it,” said New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith (R).
“I think we’re dismissing this very prematurely,” Smith continued. “We need answers, and that was days ago. We still don’t have any answers. Crickets.’
Many citizens have also become frustrated with the federal government’s lack of transparency on this issue. Some have even taken action to investigate planes they believe are mysterious drones.
Ken Dietz, a pilot of a small plane approaching Alexandria Airport in Hunterdon County this weekend, told the FAA he had to abort his landing and try again after being hit in the eye with a laser on the ground. “It’s not good,” Dietz said.
Another pilot preparing to land at Morristown Airport told police and FAA investigators that his plane was dangerously obstructed by a green laser beam.
Citizens, law enforcement and government officials have all put forward theories about who or what is behind the wave of drone reports – ranging from mass hysteria to foreign espionage, space aliens to the secret hunt for a loose atomic bomb.
But regardless of the ultimate response to this strange wave of unidentified aerial phenomena, the FBI was adamant that locals keep their lasers and guns holstered.
“Whatever your beliefs, endangering someone else’s life is not the answer,” Acting SAIC Delgado said.
But as an eyewitness to these events, Sprieser is also dissatisfied with the federal government’s efforts to explain the UAPs.
“What they are saying contradicts the facts happening around us,” he said.