Drone Flights Temporarily Banned In Cedar Grove: Feds

CEDAR GROVE, NJ — Cedar Grove is among nearly two dozen New Jersey towns where drone flights have been temporarily banned.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a temporary ban on drone flights over 22 New Jersey towns until mid-January, the agency announced overnight. The temporary flight restrictions were issued for "special security reasons," the FAA said, and will be in place until Jan. 17. Read More: FAA Bans Drone Flights Over Multiple NJ Towns

The named towns include Cedar Grove (see the advisory here). It is the only Essex County municipality on the list as of Thursday morning.

Since first appearing nearly a month ago, nightly drone sightings have been reported across the state. Most of the sightings have been happening from dusk to dawn. Federal investigators say they haven’t been able to figure out where the drones are coming from, but have claimed they aren’t a threat.

Their explanations haven’t held much weight with increasingly frustrated residents and local officials, who are demanding more transparency from federal agencies such as U.S. Homeland Security and the FBI.

One of the more extreme theories about the origin of the drones was Rep. Jeff Van Drew’s suggestion that the devices may coming from an off-shore Iranian “mothership” – a claim that the congressman has since taken back. Read More: NJ Rep Walks Back Iranian Drone 'Mothership' Theory

Federal authorities have acknowledged that some of the drone sightings are real – although they’re likely just local hobbyists or drone enthusiasts legally taking their devices for a spin. Federal Aviation Administration regulations changed in 2023, allowing people to fly them at night – which may be contributing to the rise in sightings.

But for every “genuine” drone sighting there may be lots of cases of mistaken identity, officials say.

Some have suggested that many of the bright lights are just planes taking off from nearby airports. See Related: Drone Or Plane? Newark Airport In ‘Close Proximity’ To NJ Sightings

Other local residents may have confused the activity they saw at Essex County Airport in Fairfield with drones, but the hubbub was only filming – which Netflix had permission for, an official said. Read More: ‘Activity’ At Essex County Airport Is Filming, Not Drones

Yet more sightings across the state, such as reports of a drone crashing into the Atlantic Ocean along the beach in Point Pleasant Beach, have been unable to be confirmed, authorities say. See Related: ‘Drone Crash’ Investigated In Point Pleasant Beach

The FBI said it has received tips of more than 5,000 reported drone sightings in the last few weeks. Their analysis so far?

“Having closely examined the technical data and tips from concerned citizens, we assess that 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. We have not identified anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast.”

The FBI Newark, New Jersey State Police and New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness are asking the public to report any information related to drone sightings to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. People can also submit tips online at tips.fbi.gov.

• See Related: Frustration Over NJ Drone Mystery Builds In Essex County
• See Related: 5 Ways To Take Action On Drone Mystery: NJ Congresswoman
• See Related: NJ Drones And ‘Radioactive Material’ Rumor Debunked; Mayor Skeptical

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