A strange drone crashed into a New Jersey homeowner’s backyard Thursday night, drawing the attention of the town’s mayor, who rushed to the site.
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The uncanny aircraft crashed into a suburb in Pequannock Township, Morris County, around 8:45 p.m. Thursday, according to police.
The Pequannock Police Department later assured The New York Post that the device was “a hobby or toy type of drone.” Authorities also told the outlet that it was “not a large commercial or military grade drone.”
Reports of drone crash last night in NJ. Some footage of the drone before it allegedly crashed/landed pic.twitter.com/bY721xNoyE
— History Photographed (@HistoryInPics) December 13, 2024
Of course, the New Jersey skyline has been plagued with mysterious drone sightings in recent weeks. The stealthy aircraft has fueled conspiracy theories and alarmed locals. After all, the Army’s Picatinny Arsenal base is in the Garden State.
However, authorities insist that many of the sightings are simply “copycats’ stoking the public’s imagination.
“What we think is it started as some sort of Picatinny Arsenal base surveillance drill or operation. Once it exploded online, this became a copycat situation,” an anonymous police chief told The Post.
Drone sightings near the US Army’s Armament Research Center at Picatinny Arsenal, a secure facility focused on developing military weapons, have sparked concerns about possible espionage by foreign countries.
A Determined New Jersey Mayor Surveys the Damage at the Drone Crash Site
When The Post reached the drone crash site on Thursday night, the homeowner was busy taking out his trash. They chose not to comment. Meanwhile, news of a drone crashing into a Pequannock backyard prompted the mayor to rush to the scene.
Pequannock Mayor Ryan Herd arrived at the crash site in a Ford Econoline work van to assess the situation firsthand. Speaking to the outlet, Herd firmly stated that the object in question was “definitely not” one of the massive, car-sized drones rumored to have been flying overhead.
The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into the incident.
Drone falling out of the sky, and it looks like it's on fire.#Drone #Drones #DroneSightings #DroneCrash #DroneCrashingNJ #DroneCrashNJ #newjerseydrones #newjerseydrone #DroneSighting pic.twitter.com/YFqjiCewzH
— Dragomìr Khost (@DragomirKhost) December 13, 2024
“Nobody knows whose drones are flying over us, what they’re flying over us for, and where they’re taking off and landing,” a concerned Herd told The Post. “Drones are flying over our houses, which is our private property. My family is here,” the mayor added.
Herd also strongly advised residents against chasing, shooting at, or attempting to capture any of the large drones.
“We can’t be putting up Class 1 and Class 2 drones trying to follow these drones. God forbid something happens and it crashes into the big drone, and the big drone crashes into a house and kills six people. That’s going to be a problem,” he told The Post.
Meanwhile, beleaguered denizens of the Garden State continue to watch the skies.