Murphy – When asked if he had received any complaints about drones lately, Cherokee County Commissioner Dan Eichenbaum said Thursday evening that he hadn’t, but then advised that “UFO” – an unidentified flying object – would more accurately describe what people are seeing.
UFO sightings in Cherokee County are drawing hundreds of comments on local social media websites, begging the question: Are we alone?
If “alone” refers to aliens from another world, the answer as it pertains to the most recent wave of UFO sightings is, yes, we are probably alone.
However, if “alone” refers to someone flying a drone equipped with a video camera over your property, the answer is a near certainty that you aren’t alone.
UFO sightings assumed to be drones are coming in by the thousands in the Northeast, but are becoming more common in Cherokee County.
Joy Stein made a post on The Original Murphy Mouth Facebook group on Dec. 14 that has received 265 comments, while Crystal Radford made a post on Murphy Mouth 2.0 on Nov. 29 that has received 163 comments.
“I believe we have drones in Murphy … I’ve seen two this evening,” Stein posted.
Said Radford, “Over the last few months (since at least summer), I have seen giant drones sitting in one spot around Brasstown, Peachtree, Martins Creek and Murphy. A couple weeks ago, me and my kids saw three of them lift from the old Peachtree Road direction and split going towards Murphy, Marble and Peachtree.
“We were on Greenlawn Cemetery and it sounded like a helo but was a rectangle and loud. It went directly over us toward the hospital direction. Tonight there was one sitting directly over (N.C.) 141 at Moog and another flying toward Andrews around 6 p.m. Then one in the Martins Creek/Ranger and one over the river road toward Murphy about 10:30 p.m.
“Why are there drones all over our county every single night? Why are they huge and hovering? What are they doing? Who is controlling them? What are they looking for? Who approved them and paid for them? I have so many questions, anyone have answers?”
Few answers
The answer is that there is no single one answer.
- The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office has a drone used for law enforcement surveillance purposes and has demonstrated it at local job fairs.
- The State Bureau of Investigation has drones, and so does the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
- Cherokee County Emergency Management has a drone used for search and rescue purposes.
- Real estate companies use drones to take aerial pictures of real estate for marketing purposes.
Sometimes what are thought to be drones are actually lines of Starlink satellites in orbit, crossing the nighttime sky. And, sometimes, a drone is being operated by the kid next door.
Anyone can buy a drone – Amazon.com lists dozens at prices ranging from under $50 to hundreds of dollars.
For recreational purposes, an individual must pass a Federal Aviation Administration safety test, plus:
- Register your drone with the FAA at faadronezone-access.faa.gov.
- Fly within visual line of sight.
- Fly in Class G airspace.
- Fly for hobby or recreation only.
- Fly a drone under 55 pounds, unless certified by a community-based organization.
- Never fly near other aircraft or emergency response efforts.
Commercial drone operation is more involved. You must:
- Obtain a remote pilot certificate from the FAA.
- Be at least 16 years old.
- Be able to read, speak, write and understand English.
- Be in a physical and mental condition to safely fly a drone.
- Pass the initial aeronautical knowledge exam: “Unmanned Aircraft General – Small.”
- Register all drones less than 55 pounds at the FAA DroneZone website.
Across the state, nation
Cherokee County isn’t the only North Carolina county with drone sightings.
“We are actively communicating with federal and local agencies about residents’ reports of drones spotted in eastern North Carolina and are working to find answers,” U.S. Rep. Don Davis (D-N.C.) told The Center Square.
Sightings started in the Northeast last month, speculation has intensified and there has been little to no explanation. The federal government hasn’t identified public safety or national security risks, according to national security spokesman John Kirby.
“There are more than 1 million drones that are lawfully registered with the Federal Aviation Administration,” Kirby said. “And there are thousands of commercial, hobbyist and law enforcement drones that are lawfully in the sky on any given day. That is the ecosystem that we are dealing with.”
There have been more than 5,000 reports to the FBI, with roughly 100 drawing investigations, according to a joint statement put out by the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, FAA and Department of Defense.
Kirby, speaking on the television show Good Morning America, said the federal government continues to be “honest and transparent” about drone activity.
It is important to note that sometimes drones are being used for good purposes.
A federal grant will enable state transportation officials to create a program that better guides the agency’s use of drones when it responds to natural disasters like Hurricanes Helene and Florence.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced the award of a $1.1 million grant to the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Division of Aviation.
The DOT was one of 47 recipients nationwide to receive a grant through the competitive Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation Grants Program, or SMART. The program is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Aviation staff will use the grant to develop a program that would use the “drone-in-a-box” technology, in which an autonomous drone can be placed in a community before a storm and then deployed remotely to start collecting images of damage and deliver emergency supplies.
“Drone in a box” can place a drone with medicine like insulin on the side of a road, then those supplies are ready to be deployed when needed, according to the DOT.
In short, drones are not just a fad and, if anything, they will become more common in the days to come.