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Drone sightings and frustrations grow across the nation
This whole drone sighting thing has become much more than social media clickbait. It's got some pretty smart folks pretty stumped, so we took it to the experts from all angles.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The White House is set to brief the House Intelligence Committee on the drones on Tuesday. In the meantime, FOX 2 went to a UFO expert to get their take on what is going on.
This whole drone sighting thing has become much more than social media clickbait. It's got some pretty smart folks pretty stumped, so we took it to the experts from all angles.
"We can usually identify about 90% of what comes into us, and it's that last 10% that keeps things exciting," said UFO expert Bill Konkolesky.
Konkolesky has been studying the phenomenon for 30 years, keeping tabs on the drone sightings sweeping the nation. Air traffic controllers warned aircraft near Dayton, Ohio, of drones over the weekend, shutting down the airspace at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for four hours!
They’re being identified as unmanned aircraft systems or UAS, but from where?
"I don’t think they’re from another planet. I don’t think they’re aliens visiting us," said Konkolesky. "They seem to be commercially produced drones."
Bill says the federal government is twiddling its thumbs on anything concrete.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas says, "We are on it," and that there is no indication of foreign involvement. That’s it.
"Everything that I know I cannot fathom. The people in charge of our government don’t know what's going on, so now it becomes a how do you relate to the public, and I think that’s what were seeing as the missing link, right now." said retired Commander Doug Slocum with the U.S. Air Force.
Slocum, who is a former fighter pilot, questioned the feds' response too, especially because it’s been more than a month since the first sighting in New Jersey.
"People are scared, I mean there's a lot that are just curious, but there are some people that see this as a serious threat and I think that needs to be addressed," he said.
It’s not just the average Joe who's worried either.
"For me, it’s a threat because the threat is real. We saw drones used with great effect all over the world," said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.
Bouchard is urging Washington to act now on how they handle drone activity.
"It’s as my grandma used to say, whistling past the graveyard, oh don’t be concerned, nothing to worry about, nothing to see here. Well, there is," he said.
The sheriff says there are tools to jam up drones that are operating outside of guidelines, but it would take congressional approval to get that technology in the hands of local police agencies.
"Years ago, I wanted this technology, and I had a purchase order to buy it, and the federal government intervened and pushed back on it. Not only do they not give us the authority, they actively prevent us from being able to protect our community," he said.
Bouchard says he doesn’t want a congressional hearing a year from now after some kind of attack, urging other police brass to speak out now.