Answers Finally on the Way For New York Drone Sightings

New Yorkers curious about the origin of those mysterious drones reported over the Hudson Valley may finally get some answers.

Since November, drones have been spotted all over the New Jersey, Connecticut and New York region. Reports of hovering objects "the size of cars" have been spread across the internet, with some even including photos and videos of airplane-shaped crafts flying above.

Drone Hysteria Leads to Some Crazy Rumors

While officials agree that there has been an uptick in mysterious drones flying overhead, The Department of Homeland Security reports that many of the so-called sightings have actually been of small aircraft.

This weekend someone showed me photos on their phone of what they believed were drones. The fuzzy, far-away photos showed contrails behind the aircraft, which is a dead giveaway that it wasn't a drone. Water vapor doesn't come from propellers, so this was clearly a photograph of an airplane. Unconvinced, the person told me that they heard "on the news" that the drones were releasing chemicals. This is completely untrue and, again, the photo was clearly an airplane.

Real Drone Shuts Down Stewart Airport

On Friday night, an actual drone in the vicinity of Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, New York put airspace in lockdown. Runways were shut down at 9:30 and remained closed for an hour. It's not uncommon for drones or other objects in the sky to temporarily shut down airports, but because of the recent drone hysteria, the incident drew the attention of Governor Hochul who used the opportunity to push for new legislation to allow the state to investigate drone sightings.

Pressure has been put on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act. The legislation would give the FAA more authority over drone activity and allow local governments to enforce and investigate drone use.

New York Will Soon Get Answers About Drone Activity

This weekend, Senator Chuck Schumer urged the Department of Homeland Security to send high-tech drone-detecting technology to areas of New York where sightings have been reported.

According to ABC, the recently declassified Robin Radar System allows for 360-degree scans of the skies. Unlike linear line-of-sight radars, the Robin can easily detect drones in large areas.

On Sunday evening, Governor Hochul announced that the technology was, indeed, coming to New York and would be put to use finding drones. The Robin Radar System is expected to finally separate fact from fiction when it comes to recent drone sightings and allow officials to locate the operators of any drones that appear to be breaking the law.

Government Not Convinced There Is a Problem

FBI officials have said that out of the thousands of drone sightings, only a handful have been legitimate. They maintain that a majority of the sightings "are, in fact, manned aircraft being misidentified as drones."

Throughout the years we've seen the same thing happen with sharks, child predators and even killer clowns. After hearing sensationalized news stories, people inevitably wind up calling in reports claiming that a stingray in the ocean is a shark fin or a van idling on their street is up to no good. A flood of scary clown sightings in 2016 tied up police resources for weeks with calls from Hudson Valley residents terrified by red balloons.

Luckily, the state-of-the-art radar system on its way to New York will inevitably locate the source of these drones or expose the whole thing as just another case of mass hysteria.