Traffic & Transit
Drone Sighting Causes Ground Stop At Newark Airport: Officials
Authorities temporarily grounded flights in Newark when pair of drones were seen flying north of the airport, officials said.
NEWARK, NJ -- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily ordered a ground stop at Newark Airport on Tuesday due to reported drone activity in the area, officials said.
A pair of drones were seen flying 3,500 feet over Teterboro Airport, which is about 17 miles north of Newark Airport. After the sighting, officials halted takeoffs from Newark and held inbound planes in the air, The New York Times reported.
The incident caused a ground stop at the busy airport, ABC News reported.
Find out what's happening in Newarkfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Normal operations at the airport resumed Tuesday evening, Port Authority of NY/NJ officials stated around 7 p.m.
"We’re coordinating with the FAA and fully supporting all federal law enforcement authorities as they investigate this incident," Port Authority officials said.
Find out what's happening in Newarkfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
United Airlines provided the following statement to NJ.com on Tuesday:
"We are monitoring reports of drone activity, which the FAA is investigating. The impact to our operations has been minimal so far. We are working closely with the airport and the FAA to return our operations to normal as quickly as possible."
Normal #EWR operations have resumed after arrivals were briefly held by the FAA due to reports of drone activity north of the airport earlier this evening. We’re coordinating with the FAA & fully supporting all federal law enforcement authorities as they investigate this incident
— Newark Liberty Airport (@EWRairport) January 23, 2019
Just landed at Newark. Our @united flight had to circle because of stopped takeoffs and landings due to nearby drone activity. Time to come up with technology to remotely shut down these drones #EWR
— Brett Sosnik (@BrettSoz) January 22, 2019
Inbound JAX to @EWR and pilot just announced we are holding due to “possible drone activity” at the airport. Lovely. @United
— Michael T. Rose (@MikeTRose) January 22, 2019
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