COCKEYSVILLE, Md. — "We just don't know" aren't the most comforting words to hear from the FBI when asked about flying objects over military bases. The lack of information over reported drone sightings in recent weeks has fueled speculation, but it's also fueled more sightings.
"I think that people weren't aware that there's that many drones out there flying,” Douglas Williams, the aviation program director at Community College of Baltimore County, told WMAR-2 News Monday.
The Federal Aviation Administration says there’s more than a million registered drones in the U.S. But of all the flashing lights spotted in the sky over the past month, the FBI says many weren't even drones.
Here in Maryland for example, former Governor Larry Hogan posted a video of what he said were drones flying over his home in Anne-Arundel County. But some experts said all his camera captured was Orion's Belt.
It all started in New Jersey in November, where residents reported seeing drones the size of an SUV.
“Would it even be possible to say, from the ground, that object up there is bigger than a car?” WMAR-2 News’ Elizabeth Worthington asked Williams.
He responded, “I think it'd be difficult to make that determination. I've seen some of the footage on social media where they say it's drone, you can clearly see a rotor on top of it; it's a helicopter.”
He showed us drones of several sizes in his classroom, including professional drones that can withstand up to 30 mph winds, a drone that takes off vertically, and a homemade drone his students made for just $150.
Williams is not concerned about the recent drone, or non-drone activity. But there is one piece of the story he doesn't know how to explain. Why weren't federal officials able to tell where these drones were coming from or who they belonged to?
"So why they weren't picking up the signal, I'm not sure. I'd only be speculating. But they should have had a remote ID signal out there,” Williams said.
Drones larger than .55 lb are required by the FAA to have a remote ID, essentially a digital license plate, that broadcasts a drone's position, altitude, and the ground operator's position.
“Remote ID is a recent thing, so not all drones have them. All manufactured drones, I believe after 2022 were required to be manufactured with that in. Those manufactured before that, can get the remote ID by buying a special broadcast module that basically Velcros onto the drone, and it’ll do the same thing,” Williams explained. “Now, if somebody builds their own drone from scratch, and a lot of people are doing that, they may not build that remote ID feature into it.”
But anyone can track drones that do have remote IDs, using a scanner app like this one Williams showed us on his phone.
We were in BWI's airspace, a restricted zone, so there were no drones around. But we powered one up in the classroom, and it popped right up.
In a joint statement issued Tuesday, federal officials from the FBI, FAA, Department of Defense (DoD), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said, after close examination, they haven't found anything illegal or even unordinary from the more than 5,000 sightings they received.
“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,” the agencies wrote.
But if the drones had a legally required remote ID, the FBI would have been able to track them easily from the get-go.
While that part of the mystery remains unsolved, experts we talked to caution people not to rush to judgment every time they see a blinking light in the sky.
"99.9% of the drones that are flying out there for commercial or recreational use are being flown by actual pilots,” Jerry White, chief pilot for DART Drones Academy, told WMAR-2 News.
White was also perplexed, however, by the FBI’s inability to trace the origins of the drones originally spotted in New Jersey.
“Why can’t law enforcement see these drones? And why are there more questions than answers by everyone that needs to know?” he wondered.
The DoD has confirmed some of the drone sightings were indeed over military bases, but officials say that's not a new problem, and they have the tools to detect, respond, and keep unauthorized drones out of that sensitive airspace.
Federal officials say they will continue to investigate the reported sightings.
"We continue to support state and local authorities with advanced detection technology and support of law enforcement. We urge Congress to enact counter-UAS legislation when it reconvenes that would extend and expand existing counter-drone authorities to identify and mitigate any threat that may emerge."
A way to look at things flying in the sky