A mysterious drone in New York temporarily closed the runway at an Orange County airport, prompting a frustrated governor to seek federal aid and declare, “This has gone too far.”
New York Stewart International Airport was forced to close its runway for about an hour Friday night “due to drone activity in the airspace,” Gov. Cathy Hochul said in a statement.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement to NBC New York on Saturday that it temporarily delayed air traffic late Friday night “due to reports of multiple drone sightings near and over the airport.”
The agency said there were no safety implications for aircraft.
A spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the airport received a report of a drone sighting from the FAA around 9:40 p.m. Friday. A spokesperson said the runway reopened at 10:45 p.m. The closure had no impact on flights.
“This is going too far,” Hochul said.
Drones have been spotted over New York, New Jersey and other northeastern states, causing concern and confusion. Some lawmakers, including Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal; New Jersey Republican Reps. Chris Smith and Jeff Van Drew called on the military to shoot them down. But experts say the shooting poses a safety risk and is illegal.
Hochul said he has directed the New York State Information Center to aggressively investigate sightings and work with federal law enforcement to deal with the drones. The governor said efforts continue.
“However, to enable state law enforcement agencies to address this issue, I am now calling on Congress to pass the Anti-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act,” she said. said. “This bill would reform the legal authorities against UAS, increase FAA oversight of unmanned aircraft, and expand anti-UAS efforts to some state and local law enforcement agencies.”
“It is imperative that these powers be extended to New York State and its neighbors. Until these powers are vested in state and local officials, the Biden Administration will continue to deploy additional federal law enforcement to New York and its surrounding areas. We need to take command and intervene to ensure the safety of our “critical infrastructure and our people,” Hochul added.
“There is currently no evidence that the reported drone sightings pose a threat to national security or public safety or have any foreign ties,” the White House said in a statement. Officials said the drones flying over New Jersey over the past few weeks appear to be commercial, not recreational.
In an interagency background conference call Saturday, Homeland Security officials reiterated that there is no “evidence that there is a threat to public safety.”
FAA officials said it is not illegal to fly drones in U.S. airspace, while Federal Bureau of Investigation officials said there was a “slight overreaction” to drone sightings.
“We believe that many reported drone sightings are actually manned aircraft that were mistaken for drones,” a DHS official said by phone. “So far, there is no evidence of foreign involvement in landing drones from ships in the region.”
