Newark airport shut down in US due to drone sightings

[JanB]

In addition to the battery drain to get to 3500 AGL, the winds aloft on most days would make drone flying a challenge-impossible and battery life very limited. The investigation should start and perhaps stop with wind speed that day at 3500. Wind speed increases significantly with altitude.

Wind speed can but not must increase with hight, sometimes it is the contrary, sometimes it is as you say and sometimes there are calme hights while the wind near the floor is high velocity ...

 

[jagraphics]

Whoever made this statement, "There are a number of YouTube videos of Mavics flying much higher then 3,500 feet".
Prove it and give me details otherwise this is another opinion without any bases of fact. Get a life

As stated by others Google or a YT search will show you any number of these videos. Grow up and get a life.

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[tatmanblue]

3,500ft?
Whats the elevation there? Im calling potential BS on that...

I feel its just the same ole paranoia going around. Probably follow the money. Find out that pilot associations, news media etc are afraid of drones, not so much because they could interfere with flight operations, but there is real risk to their income. A new field of news, videography etc....because the the quality drones have become. So they use "risk of drones interfering with flight" to scare people into regulating the field.

 

[globeguy1]

The latest on this is that they are now fairly certain it was NOT a drone. As in most cases, including Gatwick, we have another industry blaming incident that wasn't an incident.

The Gatwick incident turned out to be police surveillance drones.

I've seen a few articles in the last several days about this, but the ones I've read are hardly conclusive as the pushback came from a DJI spokesman who used terms like "highly unlikely" and "predisposed."
Maybe the drone that snarled Newark airport operations wasn't a drone at all

It is absolutely possible that the sightings were something other than a drone - the sad aspect is that it takes only one bad actor to spread those predispositions like wildfire.

 

[JanB]

As stated by others Google or a YT search will show you any number of these videos. Grow up and get a life.

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That is absolutely not the record with the MP...

 

[jagraphics]

That is absolutely not the record with the MP...

interesting! Not doubting you but do you have any links? I got flooded with all sorts of hight test when I looked. All well over 3500 feet. However if the airport in question has a ground level of 3500 above sea level then 3500 above the ground or 7K feet above sea level might be a struggle.

Also not all drones are DJI, others might be able to go higher still some drones have a max height of 65,000ft

 

[badaxed]

ya, what he said....

i am 59 and that line is gibberish to me.
but then i try to not club my computer with the big stone rock on a stick..

How you tie rock to stick??????????? mmmmmm me use just stick!!!!!!!!

 

[tedledan]

OK, I admit I am a skeptic of the skeptics, but whether it's an unlocked DJI drone or other drone, why would it "struggle" to get to 3500' AGL when they easily fly to 5+ miles out and back or up to the 500m imposed limit? I'm pretty sure the Mavic, Phantom 4 Pro, or Matrice for example would easily reach 3500' above takeoff with sufficient battery to return to home if there was no imposed limit.

My point being, DJI drone or otherwise, 3500' does not seem unreasonable. Though I am curious about the battery power needed to reach that altitude vs. the battery power needed to reach that distance using a Mavic 2 Pro or Phantom 4 series.

That's a good point. I too am curious

 

[jagraphics]

How may YouTube videos have we seen of imbecilic drone enthusiasts pushing the vertical limits of their aircraft? Some have even done it through dense cloud cover subverting every FAA guideline...

only if in the USA.... other parts of the world have different regulations. Also it depends on UAV or drone (some can opperate at 65,000 feet) and why you are flying it.

 

[owg666]

On GoogleEarth you can go to 8000ft SAFELY and see about the same thing

Exactly

 

[LINXXL]

https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/01/22/us/newark-drone-sightings/index.html?r=https://www.google.com/

Flights into and out of New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport were disrupted Tuesday night after two drones were reported flying over nearby Teterboro Airport.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Greg Martin told CNN that the agency stopped flights at the airport after the drones were reported over the smaller regional airport some 15 miles away. Both airports serve the greater metro New York City area.
The two drones were flying at 3,500 feet and have since cleared the airspace over the airport, Martin said.

The whole thing is most likely a Hoax. Its says Drones were reported , not actually sighted.

 

[globeguy1]

The whole thing is most likely a Hoax. Its says Drones were reported , not actually sighted.

Begs the question, if I saw a drone while on the approach, how would I pass that information? Wait, wait, it'll come to me, I'll report it. Just like I'd report windshear, icing, picking up an ELT, etc. Two different crews (Southwest and United) reported it.

 

[sar104]

Begs the question, if I saw a drone while on the approach, how would I pass that information? Wait, wait, it'll come to me, I'll report it. Just like I'd report windshear, icing, picking up an ELT, etc. Two different crews (Southwest and United) reported it.

You are wasting your time arguing with those mindsets. They combine complete ignorance of all things aviation with a total lack of reason. The result is almost stupefying.

 

[dronerdave]

No opinion whether the pilots saw one on not. If an quad operator was flying in that location at that height, he or she is an idiot. One of my buddies friend like to fly that way... and even at night. What a jerk. I just hope that Mylar balloons or plastic bags don't become drones. I don't want our hobby to fall to all the fake news events.

 

[Prmath]

Begs the question, if I saw a drone while on the approach, how would I pass that information? Wait, wait, it'll come to me, I'll report it. Just like I'd report windshear, icing, picking up an ELT, etc. Two different crews (Southwest and United) reported it.

IF....... there truly was a drone flying on the approach, it sad the tower can’t lock on with a powerful laser and BBQ it from the sky. The technology is very POSSIBLE but cost is the problem........

 

[sar104]

IF....... there truly was a drone flying on the approach, it sad the tower can’t lock on with a powerful laser and BBQ it from the sky. The technology is very POSSIBLE but cost is the problem........

That is science fiction, not current technology. Not to mention being a huge hazard to other air traffic if it were ever deployed.

 

[BigBoozer]

Are you referring to absolute heights (above sea level) or relative ones (above take-off point) ?
I have flown three weeks in South America's Andes always taking off above 3,500 meters above sea level, reaching once 5,500 meters of altitude (250 meters above take-off altitude) without any problem. Mavic Pro, standard blades. (see

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).

 

[JanB]

relative ones.

 

[jagraphics]

IF....... there truly was a drone flying on the approach, it sad the tower can’t lock on with a powerful laser and BBQ it from the sky. The technology is very POSSIBLE but cost is the problem........

Only possible in hollywood. Reality is a bit different even though a lot of the technology exists. Otherwise lazer weapons would be in use al over the place for Air defence on ships.

 

[JanB]

Only possible in hollywood. Reality is a bit different even though a lot of the technology exists. Otherwise lazer weapons would be in use al over the place for Air defence on ships.

Sorry to contradict you. There still exist such laser weapons, even if they are not in common use but they are working on it experimentally. The biggest problem seems to get enough energy to make a practicable distance for the laser burn and of course to make the weapon mobile. The American airforce or navy succeeded in trials to shoot a/some (flying) rocket/s which broke apart and exploded... Directed-energy weapon - Wikipedia