The main purpose
of my first drone article
was to explain that
real science is complex,
and there are many more
questions than answers.
Junk science is simple,
and has all the answers.
The FBI, FAA, and the
U.S. Air Force have all
launched investigations.
After three weeks
of investigations,
there has not been
much progress.
The U.S. Air Force
has told the
Associated Press
that they are
NOT conducting
drone operations,
or training missions,
in Colorado, Nebraska,
and Kansas.
Nobody knows
where these drones
are coming from,
or why they
are flying over
three states.
The drones are
six feet wide, with
red and white lights,
unmanned aircraft
flying in
mysterious patterns
across the skies
in Colorado, Nebraska,
and Kansas.
That's the old news.
New information:
-- The first "sighting"
was actually in
late November 2019,
not around Christmas,
as had been reported
in the media before
this week.
-- Sightings have increased,
although maybe because
more people have been
looking for them?
-- The Colorado Department
of Public Safety investigated
90 drone reports from
November 23, 2019 through
January 13, 2020.
Of the 90 reports,
12 were small "toylike"
drones, apparently
unrelated to the
six foot wide drones.
-- Authorities used
a heat-detecting plane
from January 6 through
January 13, 2020.
They spotted 23 drones.
13 of the 23
were small drones,
not six foot wide,
while the size of 4
could not be identified.
That means 6 drones
were positively identified
as large, and up to
10 of the 23
were large drones
The Federal
Aeronautics
Administration
( FAA )
told the
Associated Press:
( AP )
"We take every
drone-sighting
report seriously.
Multiple FAA divisions
are continuing to work
closely with federal, state,
and local stakeholders
on this issue,"
FAA spokesman
Ian Gregor wrote
in an email.
WHEN IN DOUBT,
WE NEED A
CONSPIRACY
THEORY !
My best guess today
is a "drone club"
having fun.
Flying in
a formation
at night would
be a challenge,
but maybe
the "pilots"
have day jobs ?
With ALL the authorities
scratching their heads,
we are hearing many
conspiracy theories
among residents
trying to explain
the unexplainable.
One of the theories
made sense to me:
"Defense contractors
might be involved,"
said Dan Carlson,
a retired meteorologist.
"By the time
they' fess up to it,
they'll have been
in the sky
for four years."
Carlson said the drones
were spotted four times
this year near his home
in Sidney, Nebraska.
He said they flew in pairs
with impressive vertical
and horizontal speed.
He speculates the drones
are part of a high-tech
military program,
practicing some kind of
search-and-recovery
operation, pursuing items
that have been hidden
during the daytime,
for nighttime exercises.
The good news:
The drones are flying
in very rural areas,
and not interfering
with airplanes,
or anyone else.
That's a sharp contrast
from the criminals and
other delinquents
with lasers,
who harass
commercial pilots
when they take off,
and when they land.
No one can figure out
the drones ...
but
forecasting the climate
100 years in the future
is easy to do ?