New Jersey Drone Sightings | General Statement

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(Marlton NJ): Influential Drones is aware of the continued reports regarding drone sighting throughout the State. We have been outside most nights monitoring activity with different equipment available to us. We get calls, texts and emails about this topic frequently. We have been doing our best to help classify what is visible to our partners and clients.

We are a company actively involved in the aviation industry. We have relationships with pilots who fly general aviation, business, commercial and military aircraft. We have knowledge of uncrewed systems intended for recreational purposes and commercial activities above and below the 55 lbs weight classes. Our experience includes  hands-on interactions with aircraft directly, and in some instances flight time in the right seat beside the pilot.

At this present moment, we are not concerned about a drone threat to the public. Our opinion is based on us having been able to identify most of what we personally have witnessed in real time. We use sensors, software, our understanding of air traffic patterns and aircraft behavior to make our determinations.

We acknowledge the difficulty others may have in identifying aircraft they are not used to seeing. We know that trying to identify something at night, from a distance, while it is moving and flashing is a challenge.

We think New Jersey is a great place to live if you love aviation. Now our pilot friends will chime in about the cost of aviation fuel being too high, but putting that aside, there is plenty of activity in New Jersey simply if you look up. This is not something that has happened only in the past 30 days, rather activity that has existed for years. Within the state are 475 licensed aviation facilities and heliports, including 41 public use airports, 75 private use airports, and 314 heliports. We have 2 international airports, and just outside of the state line are other airports such as Philadelphia International, Northeast Philadelphia, JFK, LaGuardia and Wilmington. We have military installations in the state. Emerging technology such as commercial and recreational drones which will later welcome advanced air mobility flights are here too.

We will not comment on things we have not seen ourselves. We respect the opinions of others and their views. We are happy to review photographs and videos to help identify what has been seen.

The NJ Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness has a good website which can be a resource to those seeking information. Google “New Jersey UAS/Drone Incidents FAQ”. We encourage those who wish to report suspicious drone sightings to contact the FBI. Calling your local police department overwhelms the 911 call centers, making it difficult for smaller departments to respond to other calls for service like house fires, accidents, and crimes.

If you want to try to identify what you are looking at, consider downloading applications on your mobile device. We use FlightAware, Flight24, ADSBexchange, SkyVector, Foreflight and Garmin Pilot when we look at air traffic. Keep in mind that there are refresh delays and that some aircraft simply are not broadcasting. We recommend StarView lite because satellites, stars and planets are visible at night. Stars and planets appear to hold position, which have been linked back to drone sightings. Our mobile devices have DroneScanner, UAVForecast, and CalTopo installed and our team uses TimeStamp Camera because it watermarks pictures and videos with GPS location and orientation details.

Here are some tips to accurately report what you see. In addition to the date, time and duration of what you witness, include also (1) where you are standing; (2) which way you are looking; (3) which way the aircraft is moving when you see it; (4) if you see lights, what colors, are they flashing and how are they oriented; (5) Listen for any sounds; and lastly but most importantly (6) try to take a picture or video.

The FBI call center is 1-800-225-5324. The FBI website is https://tips.fbi.gov/home

The New Jersey See Something Say Something UAS Sighting Reporting Form.