Dozens of drone sightings have been reported in the state, starting in November.
Throughout the week, multiple state and U.S. lawmakers have been calling for more transparency after residents as well as local elected officials reported seeing drones across New Jersey in recent days.
U.S. officials, including the FBI and White House, have said the drones don’t pose a national security threat, while the Pentagon has denied claims that they are originating from Iran.
Reports of Crashes Surface
Officials in Pequannock Township, New Jersey, said that a drone crashed into the backyard of a residential area on Thursday night, according to a statement on the township’s police department Facebook page.
The statement stressed it was “a hobby or toy type of drone, not a large commercial or military grade drone.”
The mayor of Pequannock, Ryan Herd, told the New York Post that he saw the drone after going to the crash scene, saying that it is not one of the large, car-sized drones that have been reported around the state in recent weeks.
However, he said he is concerned about the mystery surrounding the recent drone sightings.
“Drones are flying over our houses, which is our private property. My family is here,” he said.
Officials in New Jersey’s Hillsborough Township, meanwhile, said Friday that there had been reports of a drone crashing into a power line in the township but found no evidence of a crash.
Hillsborough Police said in a statement that responding officers “met with the reporting party who reported observing drones in the air and one striking the high-power tension lines.” The person reporting the drone then said the drone crashed into a field, according to the statement. However, officials were not able to find any downed drone, it said.
Governors Issue Statements
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy sent a letter on Friday to President Joe Biden expressing concerns about the drones and asking for help from the federal government.
“While I am sincerely grateful for your administration’s leadership in addressing this concerning issue, it has become apparent that more resources are needed to fully understand what is behind this activity,” Murphy wrote.
