The government sent out a lot of mixed messages the week of December 16, 2024. In response to various apparent drone sightings in New Jersey, then-President Joe Biden said on December 17 that there was "nothing nefarious" in the sky. That same day, members of Congress came out of a classified briefing saying that the alleged drone sightings posed no threat to the public. Then, on December 18, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed large flight restrictions backed by "deadly force" over New Jersey, and authorities announced they were investigating drone sightings over military bases across the country.
New Jerseyans would just have to take it on faith from the authorities that there was nothing to worry about, while the authorities themselves acted worried. But the day before the FAA no-fly zones were imposed, the federal government had already internally debunked some of the most alarming reports. The explanation was neither nefarious nor too sensitive to share with the public.
On December 17, 2024, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) presented an internal slideshow demonstrating that three alleged drone incidents—one during a medevac flight, one over the ocean, and another near a nuclear plant—were simply normal air traffic. Another report of a "drone" spraying mysterious mist could be explained by wing-tip condensation on a small airplane. The presentation included maps matching flight logs to specific sightings.
