Drone Temporarily Suspends Operations at Newark
Jackie Reddy January 23, 2019
Operations at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) were temporarily halted after a drone was seen operating in close proximity to the facility earlier this week. This unmanned craft was observed by incoming planes to be operating in the airspace above TEB. EWR reopened after a brief closure.
Operations at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) were temporarily stopped after a drone was spotted in close proximity of the facility on Tuesday, Reuters reports.
While it was initially reported that two separate devices were spotted in the skies above New Jersey, the news agency clarified that, “The FAA had initially said it had reports of two drones on Tuesday evening but has since clarified to say it had two reports of one drone in northern New Jersey airspace.”
It was reported by The Guardian that these unmanned devices were observed by aircraft upon their landing approaches to EWR. The devices were spotted flying at around 3,500 feet above Teterboro Airport (TEB), a general aviation facility located approximately 20 miles north of EWR.
Despite the sightings of these two devices, no further drones were spotted in close proximity of the airport, which resumed its operations after a closure of about 20 minutes. The news agency also states that nine flights were diverted from EWR while 43 were required to adopt a holding position.
The airport confirmed the incident via its Twitter feed, stating, “Normal #EWR operations have resumed after arrivals were briefly held by the FAA due to reports of drone activity north of the airport earlier this evening. We’re coordinating with the FAA and fully supporting all federal law enforcement authorities as they investigate this incident.”
The sighting at EWR comes barely two weeks after operations at London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) were temporarily halted by drones flying in close proximity of the facility and just a month after drone sightings shut London’s Gatwick Airport (LGW) for three days.
[Photo: Shutterstock]
It's a good thing that only two people reported the sightings. Can you imagine the story if two dozen people had seen it?
I believe a very credible source questioned how this drone sighting story went out of control. Something possibly to do with air traffic control.