While it hasn’t turned out to be a bird, plane or Superman, the recent spate of mystery aerial activity is capturing the attention of many across the nation — even in Maryland, after sightings were reported along the Route 50 corridor.
Reports of unidentified drones began surfacing in mid-November in the New Jersey area, with residents growing increasingly concerned about who was conducting the flights and why they were occurring at night.
In recent weeks, additional sightings have been recorded from Connecticut to North Carolina. Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan also got a taste of the drone sightings and shared video footage on X about the Dec. 12 encounter he had at his home in Davidsonville at about 9:45 p.m.
Hogan said he spotted “what appeared to be dozens of large drones in the sky” above his Maryland home for approximately 45 minutes.
To date, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security said they have no evidence to suggest the New Jersey sightings pose national security or public safety threats.
In a statement to WTOP, the Federal Aviation Administration said recreational drones don’t require special permission to fly so long as they weigh 55 pounds or less.
Frustrated, some lawmakers have called for the drones to be shot down from the sky.
Local expert Luisa Winters, of Mid-Atlantic Drones, spoke to WTOP’s Ralph Fox on Saturday about the sudden drone sightings and what not to do in the event you come upon one.
Listen to the full interview below or read the transcript, which has been lightly edited for clarity.
Ralph Fox: Now, they’ve (the drones) been described as not recreational, some as big as a small car. Do you have any idea what we’re dealing with here?
Luisa Winters: Not really. I’ve never seen anything like that, and, any drone that big would have to be registered with the FAA. It’s not even considered Part 107 if it’s above 55 pounds.
Ralph Fox: Wow. I — and we’ve kind of been hearing that. Lawmakers say there’s no threat to national security, but haven’t said what’s behind it. Those two statements seem to be conflicting, based on what we know so far.
Luisa Winters: Right, and I know they can detect them, but, you know, what they are, who’s flying them — that, we civilians, we have no, no idea.
Ralph Fox: You’ve also said they should not be shot down. What’s the thought there?
Luisa Winters: Oh, absolutely not. Oh, please, don’t even think about it. It’s a federal offense, and not only that. I mean, think about it. If one of these drones falls down from the sky, we’re talking — some of these drones have been described as being six feet wide. That could cause considerable harm to the ground. I mean, you could hurt somebody.
Ralph Fox: Have you seen any, or are you familiar with any drones that are that big?
Luisa Winters: Yes, some, well, obviously, the military drones are that big and even bigger. And some cinematic drones, like what they use for movies and all of that, are even bigger than that. So, yes, absolutely.
Ralph Fox: There’s also been reports of drones, like, not just one or two, but swarms up to maybe 200 at a time. How do you coordinate something like that? Where might that come from?
Luisa Winters: I don’t know where it’s coming from, but the technology to coordinate drones has been around for many years. I mean, we’ve seen all the drone shows with lights and all of that. All of those are controlled by a single entity, a computer, and then a controller that tells each individual drone what to do. So, that technology exists. It’s not new.
Ralph Fox: OK, and this may be connected. I know from your business, you do a lot of photography with drones. They’re able to get shots that people can’t otherwise. Is that right?
Luisa Winters: Oh, absolutely. I mean, we have a flying tripod. We have a camera on it, not just for photos, but for video. So, we do a lot of cinematic work. We do a lot of construction progress work and that sort of thing. Something that you could not get even with a helicopter because we can get closer to whatever structure we are shooting.
Ralph Fox: So, if someone, for instance former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, said that there were — he saw at least 75 over his home. It’s possible that they could have been taking video, photos for surveillance purposes, yes?
Luisa Winters: It’s very possible, but he saw them at light — at night. So other than using some kind of infrared or thermal technology, I don’t think how they could have gotten much taking pictures that, you know, when there’s no sunlight outside.
Ralph Fox: Well, all right? Well, hopefully we’ll be able to solve this puzzle, get this taken care of soon. Anything I haven’t touched on you’d like to share?
Luisa Winters: Not, not really. I just want to reiterate, please, don’t try to throw a rock to the drone or to shoot it down, or anything like that. Just think about the responsibility if that drone falls to the ground and hurts somebody.
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