Mysterious drones in New York have temporarily shut down the runways of an Orange County airport, a frustrated governor said, calling for federal help and declaring that “this has gone too far.”
New York Stewart International Airport was forced to close its runways for about an hour Friday evening “due to drone activity in the airspace,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement.
The airport received a report of a drone sighting from the Federal Aviation Administration around 9:40 p.m. Friday, according to a spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The runways reopened at 10:45 p.m., the spokesperson said. The closure did not affect flights.
“This goes too far,” Hochul said.
The drones have been spotted over New York, New Jersey and other states in the Northeast, causing concern and confusion. Some lawmakers, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. and New Jersey Republican Reps. Chris Smith and Jeff Van Drew have called on the military to shoot them. However, experts have said shooting them poses a safety risk and is illegal.
Hochul said she had directed the New York State Intelligence Center to actively investigate the sightings and work with federal law enforcement to crack down on the drones. Efforts continue, the governor said.
“But to enable state law enforcement to work on this issue, I am now calling on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act,” she said. “This bill would reform legal authorities to counter UAS and strengthen FAA oversight of drones, and would expand counter-UAS activities to select state and local law enforcement agencies.”
“Extending these powers to New York State and our colleagues is essential. Until these powers are granted to state and local officials, the Biden administration must intervene by sending additional federal law enforcement to New York and the surrounding region to ensure the safety of our citizens. critical infrastructure and our people,” Hochul added.
The White House has said it “currently has no evidence that the reported drone sightings pose a threat to national security or public safety, or are foreign linked.” Officials have said the drones flying over New Jersey in recent weeks appear to be commercial grade and not recreational.
During an interagency background call on Saturday, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security official reiterated that there is no “evidence that a threat to public safety exists.”
An FAA official said it is not illegal to fly drones in U.S. airspace, while a Federal Bureau of Investigation official said there was “a slight overreaction” to the drone sightings.
“We believe that many of the reported drone sightings are in fact manned aircraft misidentified as drones,” the DHS official said in the call. “There is no evidence to date of any foreign involvement in the landing of drones from sea-going vessels in the area.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
