These days, New Jersey pilots may find themselves in a neighborhood gathering where other people are expressing frustration, fear, and anger over the lack of answers regarding nighttime lights so widely reported in the sky. For those pilots who fly after sunset, it’s probably a good idea to speak up when the chants of “shoot ‘em down!” start. It’s increasingly likely that those folks are not fully aware that airliners, law enforcement aircraft, and even innocent GA pilots, could find themselves inadvertently in the crosshairs.
An article in the Scientific American titled “It’s Not A Good Idea To Shoot At New Jersey Mystery Drones” quoted the FBI: “In overlaying the visual sightings reported to the FBI with approach patterns for Newark-Liberty, JFK, and LaGuardia airports, the density of reported sightings matches the approach patterns of these very busy airports, with flights coming in throughout the night. This modeling is indicative of manned aviation being quite often mistaken for unmanned aviation or UAS [uncrewed aerial systems].”
Even stars and planets have been identified in angry-citizen reports and videos as nefarious drones. It’s understandable, given that most of the reports likely originate with people who have not had occasion to gaze into the night sky for decades, if ever. And while taking a potshot at Venus isn’t likely to damage its target, “what goes up must come down,” and the article notes that spent ammunition can cause injury – even death – should it unluckily fall to earth in the wrong random place.
The article points out that, due to these risks, it remains a criminal offense for any U.S. citizen to interfere with, damage, or destroy a flying aircraft. It doesn’t matter if the aircraft is unidentified and flying over their backyard. Even if you miss, just shooting a gun into the air is typically classed as “reckless discharge of a firearm.” And the Scientific American points out, “That’s a very bad idea.”
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