The Ordinary Explanations Behind the Reported Drone Sightings

As reports of strange lights in the sky over New Jersey and other parts of the East Coast have grown, government officials have been stating more firmly that, in essence, there is nothing to see here.

Officials from the F.B.I., Defense Department and Department of Homeland Security said they were taking the sightings, and the concerns they have stirred, seriously, deploying advanced radar systems to hunt for foreign reconnaissance drones and scouring records for secret U.S. government programs.

But of the more than 5,000 tips they had received about drone sightings in recent weeks, only 100 required further examination, John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman, said on Monday.

Most were fixed-wing, piloted aircraft that were taking off or landing at major airports, officials said. Others were smaller planes, and some were hobbyist drones.

“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 even stars that were mistakenly reported as drones,” Mr. Kirby said. “We have not identified anything anomalous or any national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the Northeast.”

Many of the most exciting videos posted on social media have shown piloted planes, according to experts.