FAA bans drone flights near key sites in New Jersey, New York

The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday temporarily banned drone flights over parts of New York state, including Brooklyn, Queens and two communities on Long Island.

The regions include "some of New York's critical infrastructure sites," Governor Kathy Hochul of New York said in a statement.

"This action is purely precautionary," she said. "There are no threat to these sites."

The no-fly zones include Far Rockaway in Queens, Brooklyn and two communities on Long Island, Ridge and Garden City, according to the FAA. The ban will last through January 18.

The FAA's decision followed news earlier in the day that the government had issued a similar monthlong ban on drone flights over a large swath of New Jersey, the first broad prohibition of its kind since authorities began investigating a spate of sightings last month that set off fear and speculation.

And in Connecticut, several Republican lawmakers demanded a similar drone ban in their state. "What about Connecticut?" they asked in a written statement. "What about critical Connecticut infrastructure?"

The New Jersey ban began late Wednesday and will continue through Jan. 17, according to an FAA alert.

The notification cited "special security reasons" for prohibiting flights in airspace near 22 New Jersey communities, including three of the state's largest cities, Camden, Elizabeth and Jersey City.

One of the nation's largest nuclear energy facilities is in a community where drone flight is now restricted, Lower Alloways Creek.

PSE&G, which operates Salem Nuclear Generating Station, confirmed that it had asked the FAA to impose the temporary flight restrictions near some of its New Jersey energy facilities.

"The safety and security of our employees, customers and communities are our top priority, and we will continue to work with authorities," a PSE&G spokesperson, Marijke Shugrue, said in an email. She did not offer details about why PSE&G sought the restrictions.

But state Representative Jeff Van Drew, whose district includes Salem County and the surrounding area in southern New Jersey, said the nuclear plant's operators had grown concerned by reports of two drones near the perimeter of the facility, which generates nearly half of the state's power.

"This is tactically an extremely important site," Van Drew said.

Only drone pilots authorized to operate for national defense, law enforcement or disaster response purposes are permitted to fly in the 22 restricted areas of New Jersey. Operators of drones used for commercial purposes may apply for a waiver after providing a "valid statement of work," the FAA said.

The FAA said in a statement that it had temporarily restricted drone flights over "critical New Jersey infrastructure" at the request of what it described as federal security partners.

The FAA referred all additional questions to the US Department of Homeland Security.

"We continue to assess there is no public safety threat relating to the reported drone sightings," Dana Gallagher, a Homeland Security spokesperson, said in a statement. "In coordination with the FAA and our critical infrastructure partners who requested temporary flight restrictions over their facilities, out of an abundance of caution, the FAA has issued temporary flight restrictions over some critical infrastructure facilities in New Jersey."

The flight restrictions in the 22 regions apply only to drones. But pilots operating unmanned devices who fail to adhere to the no-fly rules may face swift consequences, including having drones intercepted and being questioned or detained by federal officials, FAA policies state.

Many drones used for commercial purposes are registered with the federal government and can be traced using software. It was unclear, however, how hobbyists flying drones in forbidden airspace might be discovered.

Van Drew said he continued to be dismayed by the lack of specific information offered by the federal government about the drone sightings.

"I admit that I don't know all the details," said Van Drew, a Republican who sits on a House aviation subcommittee involved in drone regulations. "But what scares people is uncertainty."

The FBI began investigating reports of drone sightings in New Jersey a month ago. Soon after, authorities banned drones from operating near the Bedminster golf course run by President-elect Donald Trump and the Picatinny Arsenal, a large US Army center.

Widespread news coverage followed. So, too, did thousands of additional reports of sightings over New Jersey, New York and several other states in the Northeast. Federal officials have issued repeated assurances that there is no security threat and have said that most sightings appear to be of either airplanes or helicopters.

That has done little to assuage the public and some elected officials, including those who have speculated that the electronic devices are being used for nefarious reasons.

Representative Josh Gottheimer said he contacted the FAA on Thursday morning to express concern that, without more information, the decision to ban drones so broadly in New Jersey could lead to "more confusion and uncertainty."

"They must brief the public on the reasons for their action," said Gottheimer, a Democrat who represents a northern New Jersey district.

Patrick E Bradley is an aviation lawyer based in Princeton, New Jersey, who is also a pilot. He said he cannot recall a similar FAA flight ban in the more than 40 years that he has been flying. What makes it so unusual, he said, is the large number of hyper-specific no-fly regions in a single state.

"All of these minuscule, tiny, temporary flight restrictions -- I've never seen that done before," Bradley said.

He said airplane pilots would likely struggle to differentiate between areas where only drones are banned and locations where all flight was restricted.

"It's guaranteed to cause confusion and difficulties for actual pilots to figure it out," he said.