New Jersey pilot ‘lost control’ after encounter with unidentified drone: report

A New Jersey drone pilot says his device lost power and was forced to descend from a restricted section of airspace, while the mystery flier he was trying to investigate managed to stay airborne despite a signal designed to shut down legal drones down.

Michael B, a podcaster and paranormal investigator behind the Terror Talk Productions YouTube channel, lives near the Picatinny Arsenal, an Army installation close to where dozens of sightings have been reported in recent weeks. He flew in the area and tried to get a closer look at a larger, unidentified object, which he believes is a drone.

“There was a drone just hanging out,” he recounted FOX 5 New York. “I had full battery life. Not 3 minutes into the flight I lost control of the drone.”

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He said he saw a warning flash across the screen on his controller and the battery died.

“The drone started going down,” he said. “Dead battery.”

But while the restricted flight area shut down his drone, the mysterious one he was trying to approach continued to fly.

B did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment from Fox News Digital Monday.

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GPS-equipped drones flying into restricted areas, places protected by virtual geofencing, can be rejected, stopped in place or forced to land.

It was not immediately clear what happened to the mystery device.

An Army spokesman told Fox News Digital that the Picatinny Arsenal had requested and received a temporary flight restriction until Dec. 26 for its airspace due to the abundance of reported drone sightings in the area.

Dozens of sightings have been reported over the skies of New Jersey and elsewhere around the country since mid-November, prompting residents to demand answers from the government, which so far has not revealed much.

The FAA said it is investigating the reported sightings and issued temporary flight restrictions for the airspace around Picatinny as well as the nearby Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster.

“We investigate all reports of unauthorized drone operations and investigate when appropriate,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Drone operators who conduct unsafe operations that endanger other aircraft or people on the ground can face fines of up to $75,000. In addition, we can suspend or revoke drone operators’ pilot licenses.”

Senator Joe Pennacchio of the state of New Jersey, a Republican, even sent a letter The incoming President Trump asks the incoming administration to prioritize an investigation into the matter.

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“Local, county and state law enforcement officials are working diligently to find answers,” he wrote. “Without these answers, we have no idea if the citizens of our state are safe. Unfortunately, they depend on our federal security agencies for answers and directions. To date, almost a month after their initial sightings, there has been no response from these federal agencies.”

Despite FAA regulations and software-defined geofences, drones can be modified and hacked to get around the restrictions.

Last week, federal prosecutors announced charges against a Chinese national accused of using a hacked drone to take pictures of Vandenberg Space Force Base from a mile up.

The source of the drones remains a mystery and it is not even clear that all the flying objects are drones and not manned aircraft. Experts note that the navigation lights are a big hint that whoever is flying them is not trying to keep them hidden.

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“In reviewing available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft being operated legally,” White House national security communications adviser John Kirby told reporters Thursday.

“Many” of them – but others remain unexplained.

Former CIA operations officer Laura Ballman told “Fox News Live” Sunday that she suspects the mysterious drones may be part of a classified test of technology designed to either detect or avoid detection.