By Tina Kelley
nj.com
BRANCHBURG TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Amid a string of unexplained night-time drone flights over New Jersey, a medevac helicopter was unable to pick up a seriously injured patient last week due to drones hovering near the landing zone, a security official said.
The medical helicopter was headed to an accident in Branchburg Township in Somerset County on Nov. 26, local officials said.
Two security guards from Raritan Valley Community College closed roads around the scene of the crash, in preparation for the medevac to land and take an accident victim to the hospital, said Brian Serge, supervisor of security at the public college.
The captain of the fire department contacted the college’s security office at 6:54 p.m., canceling the request for a helicopter landing zone due to drones flying in the area, Serge said.
“We never found out what the actual drones were,” Serge said. “It’s kind of a mystery. We were asking around about that, but nobody knew anything.”
It is unclear if the drones at the college were related to a series of drone sightings over Morris and Somerset counties over the last few weeks. The drones have been spotted hovering for hours over northern New Jersey, often in groups, prompting the FBI to request pictures and videos from the public earlier this week.
The FAA also restricted drones from flying over the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, six miles away from the community college, and Picatinny Arsenal in Jefferson and Rockaway Township following the sightings.
The FBI requested the restrictions “out of an abundance of caution,” an FBI spokeswoman said Tuesday.
Branchburg police directed questions about the Nov. 26 accident and the diverted medevac helicopter to the FBI.
Messages left with the Branchburg Fire Department for additional information were not immediately returned. It was unclear if the patient went to the hospital by ambulance or by a helicopter landing elsewhere.
A drone operator could face steep penalties for endangering human safety, federal officials said.
“We look into all reports of unauthorized drone operations and investigate when appropriate,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement Monday, noting drone operators who endanger aircraft or pedestrians could be fined up to $75,000 and lose their drone operators’ pilot certificates.
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