The Vermont resident in charge of the Federal Aviation Administration – which has some oversight over drone operation – is on the hot seat as the NY/ northern New Jersey Drone Mystery continues.
A Pennsylvania state senator told Michael Whitaker of Norwich she will introduce a resolution allowing states to destroy drones deemed a threat.
New York and New Jersey U.S. senators are demanding a briefing from top federal officials – including Michael Whitaker – about the drone sightings seen in the skies over New Jersey since late November.
The letter from Sens. Chuck Schumer, Kristen Gillibrand, Corey Booker and Andy Kim (available on X) to Whitaker, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas notes that drones ‘larger in size comparable to other commercially available drone technology’ have been seen floating around military installations and other security-sensitive areas.
Whitaker was copied on the letter presumably because the FAA has the most direct regulatory oversight over drones. Whitaker, who was appointed in October 2023, announced his resignation this week. He will leave his job the day President-elect Trump takes office.
When he was hired, Whitaker was touted as an advanced electric aircraft expert, based on his work as a top official in the Obama administration, and his operation of Supernal, an air taxi builder.
Also, a Pennsylvania state senator wants state governments to have drone oversight, up to and including shooting them down. In a letter to Whitaker, Sen. Rosemary Brown urged that “It is time to allow state governments to respond swiftly and decisively in these instances. Currently, Federal Aviation Administration regulations limit state and local governments to disable or neutralize drones that pose eminent danger to the communities we represent. This is why I have introduced a resolution urging the federal government to empower the state governments with the legal authority to respond when drones are deemed a threat.’
At 9:23 AM Friday Dec. 13, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed the lack of information and also commented on the ‘insufficiency’ of government oversight in this press release:
“We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus. The FBI, DHS and our federal partners, in close coordination with the New Jersey State Police, continue to deploy personnel and technology to investigate this situation and confirm whether the reported drone flights are actually drones or are instead manned aircraft or otherwise inaccurate sightings.
“Historically, we have experienced cases of mistaken identity, where reported drones are, in fact, manned aircraft or facilities. We are supporting local law enforcement in New Jersey with numerous detection methods but have not corroborated any of the reported visual sightings with electronic detection. To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully. There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted air space.
“We take seriously the threat that can be posed by unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), which is why law enforcement and other agencies continue to support New Jersey and investigate the reports. To be clear, they have uncovered no such malicious activity or intent at this stage. While there is no known malicious activity occurring in New Jersey, the reported sightings there do, however, highlight the insufficiency of current authorities.”
