The FBI has issued a warning to drone hunters after several pilots reported getting blinded by lasers pointed toward the sky by people who mistake planes for drones.
The FBI’s Newark division along with New Jersey state police are asking residents to knock it off following “an increase in pilots of manned aircraft being hit in the eyes with lasers because people on the ground think they see an unmanned aircraft system,” the bureau said in a statement.
The feds are also concerned people could shoot down what they believe is a drone but is actually an occupied aircraft.
“There could be dangerous and possibly deadly consequences if manned aircraft are targeted mistakenly as [drones],” FBI Newark said.
New Jersey residents have been tormented by drone sightings overhead for weeks — sending locals and elected officials alike into a tizzy.
A federal tip line for drone sightings received more than 5,000 reports but fewer than 100 were “deemed worthy of further investigative activity, the FBI said.
White House spokesman John Kirby said Monday the drones zooming above the Garden State are a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones — as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and even stars mistaken for drones.
