Warren County Community College President Will Austin has been wearing a different hat lately – as an expert in drone technology helping to shed light on the reported drone sightings along the East Coast, appearing in national and international reports on the issue.
In hundreds of print and broadcast interviews he’s done over the past several weeks, Austin has tried to calm public concern about the reported night-time drone sightings, particularly in New Jersey. He has said he believes some of the sightings involve citizens mistakenly identifying other aircraft for drones, while others are perhaps drones that are no threat to the citizenry, being operated legally or by amateur pilots. It is something the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has since said as well.
“We have to fully understand what these sightings and perhaps inaccurate reports about, but we shouldn’t let a trendy news story or political posturing lead us to limit the usefulness of unmanned systems, which have proven to be of immense value to farmers, firefighters, law enforcement, environmentalists and utilities,” he said.
One of the many media interviews Will Austin has done pertaining to the recent drone sightings in the New Jersey/New York area.
Austin — who has been key in developing his New Jersey college’s nationally known drone program, Warren UAS — and other experts are concerned that the drone hysteria will cause an unnecessary effort to further regulate the technology, which is already carefully monitored by the FAA. He noted that the FAA has strict rules about the use of drones and license requirements for pilots. Special permits are required, for instance, to use a drone out of sight of an operator or above populated areas or near airports or other areas where aircraft are operating.
Austin this week wrote an in-depth article about the drone sightings in New Jersey for the online newsletter DroneLife.
