As we wave good-by to 2024, looking back, it was not a great year for drone enthusiasts. Negative drone news this year made newspaper headlines and lead stories on broadcast news networks, have cast drones in an unfavorable light.
Unidentified Drone Sightings in the US
Starting in November, concerns across the country rose as many sightings of suspected drones were reported. These reports were not only near residential areas, but restricted sites and critical infrastructure also. The first confirmed sighting was near an Army facility, The Picatinny Arsenal, in Morris County, New Jersey. In the following days, additional sightings were reported about 45 miles away in Hunterdon county. Sightings were soon reported in New York and Pennsylvania. Since then, other drones have been reported in Washington, Florida and California.
Most of the reports are of large drones, some possibly “car-sized.” As most drone hobbyists know, drones weighing more than 250 grams are required to broadcast identifying information, including location, altitude, velocity, and location of the human controller, known as Remote ID. I had to purchase such a device for my drone, setting me back about $85. You would think the feds would have the Remote ID from the mysterious drone sightings, but if they do they ain’t saying. Of course, the drone pilots in these instances may simply not be complying with the Remote ID regulation. That’s always a possibility, but It should be noted that drones operated by the U.S. government are not required to broadcast Remote ID signals. Just sayin’.
The Feds Release Their Findings
A joint statement by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) released this month (December 2024) stated they have received more than 5,000 reported drone sightings. The report went on to say their investigations closely examined the technical data and tips from concerned citizens and their assessment was the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones.
The report concluded saying such sightings near or over DoD installations are not new and the DoD takes unauthorized access over its airspace seriously and coordinates closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities, as appropriate.
Read the government’s official release here.
Are these drone sightings as benign as the government would lead us to believe? Probably, mainly due to them not seeming too concerned. In fact, it could be their own drones – either in development (hence the secrecy) or UAV they have already been using all along. Maybe it’s E.T. giving us a closer look. I don’t know. Whatever they are, the conspiracy theorists out there will spin this as something evil, which will just harm those just trying to enjoy their hobby quads.
Orlando Drone Show Goes Bad For Even More Negative Drone News
On December 21st, an Orlando, Florida drone show turned tragic when multiple drones crashed into each other and fell from the sky. One of the drones flew into the audience, striking a 7-year-old boy in the chest. The boy underwent emergency open heart surgery, and at last report was recovering at home after spending Ckhristmas in the ICU. The mother of the boy said the drone struck his chest with such force that it damaged one of his heart valves. The boy’s lip was also cut by one of the drone’s propellers.
Several YouTube videos captured the incident. Approximately fifteen minutes into the show, multiple drones collide and start dropping from the sky. Some of the YouTube videos show a renegade drone not falling like the others, but flying a distance into the crowd.
Orlando’s WESH 2 News YouTube report.
FAA Investigates
After opening an investigation, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) suspended the drone company’s Part 107 waiver, which allows drone pilots to operate beyond typical restrictions, including flying over people or moving vehicles and exceeding a visual line of sight as is normally required. Anyone in the United States flying a drone professionally, such as a drone show, is required to obtain the Part 107 license. As of the time of this posting, the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are now jointly investigating the incident.
The drone company, Sky Elements of North Richland Hills, Texas, finished 3rd overall on “America’s Got Talent” in 2024. The company also holds eleven Guinness World Records. One record is a drone show with 5,000 drones.The company had to cancel New Year’s Eve drone shows in both Dallas and Austin. The Sky Elements show has been part of the Reunion Tower’s New Year’s Eve fireworks show in Dallas for the past three years. The incident has also triggered drone show cancellations across the country.
This is another example of negative drone news that causes the general public to perceive drones as something bad.
Drones – The New Soldiers of War
The use of drones has altered modern military operations with tactical advantages and efficiency not seen before. This was accomplished by combining precision weaponry and robotics. Add the ability to deliver a lethal payload with no risk to a pilot as they are flown remotely, and drones have become an important military weapon.
Drones also represent an economical benefit. Although military drones are not cheap, they are significantly cheaper compared to combat aircraft. A typical military drone can cost anywhere from a few million dollars to around $30 million. A fighter jet can cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Russian Ukrainian war is a prime example of drone use in modern warfare. Both Russia and Ukraine both have extensively used drones in the conflict.
Ukraine has used military drones provided by other countries. But they are now building their own, with some costing less than $1000 each to produce. While not as technically advanced as other drones, these cost-efficient drones are still able to deliver lethal payloads, in some instances allowing Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia where radar would have detected aircraft or missiles.
US Drone Use
The United States has used drones for decades. Drones were used extensively in Afghanistan, not only for delivering deadly payloads, but also for counterterrorism and intelligence operations. In fact, intelligence obtained by drones was invaluable during the search for Osama Bin Laden.
The use of drones have changed how militaries fight at a tactical level and will impact all future battlefields.
Some will consider the use of military drones a good thing. After all, how many lives of pilots can be saved by the use of these unmanned aircraft? But war is war. And any war is bad. And as drone warfare becomes more common, the word drone will become associated by many as a weapon of war. That will only hurt millions of drone enthusiasts worldwide.
Wrapping Up All This Negative Drone News- Including 2024
I didn’t even mention the US ban on DJI drones (worthy of a whole blog post in itself).
2024 has not been favorable for drone enthusiasts. None of the negative drone news mentioned here has anything to do with hobbyists. They just want to race their drones or get some great pics. But, sadly, they will probably be affected the most.
These stories will just add to the public opinion that drones are bad birds. Which is a shame. As a drone enthusiast and proud drone owner for years now myself, I could talk endlessly about the hours of enjoyment my quads have given me.
We are in desperate need of the public seeing the positive side of drones. But with all the bad stuff in the news this year, I’m afraid public opinion will just get worse.
2025!
Have a very happy (and safe) New Years and I’ll see ya in 2025!