Drone sightings in Utah and how to identify them yourself
Dec 16, 2024, 8:30 PM | Updated: Dec 19, 2024, 5:02 pm
FILE: Police use a drone as they investigate a fatal motorcycle versus vehicle accident on Main Street and 2335 South in South Salt Lake on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
(Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Have the mysterious drones from New Jersey made it to Utah?
Related: What we know about the mystery drone sightings in New Jersey
Utah sightings
Jamie Clark said she and some neighbors saw some unusual objects in the sky near her Kaysville home Sunday night.
About 10 p.m. on Sunday night neighbors alerted her to suspicious lights in the sky. She said there were ten drone-like objects, but too large to be hobby drones and they were flying in a pattern close together relatively low compared to normal plane altitude. So, she took to Facebook asking if anyone else saw anything and now there are dozens of comments on that post saying, yes, they did.
“The number of them in the same area and taking the same paths and where they were crossing, you could tell for sure they weren’t airplanes,” said Clark.
Kaysville police said they haven’t received any reports or information on any flying objects.
On Monday afternoon Hill Air Force Base said they have spotted several drones near the base recently.
They said the drones haven’t impacted their operations. And they’ve taken measures to safeguard the base. They say if you see something suspicious call the local police.
What are experts saying?
If you do think you’ve seen mysterious drones but want to be sure, experts say it’s now easier than ever to discover what’s flying.
Red Cat, a Salt Lake City-based company that manufactures drones—some of which are supplied to the U.S. Government—said there are apps available for anyone who wants to learn more about the drones flying nearby.
“You can pull up Flight Radar or Flight Aware any of those app that allow you to see manned aircraft. Drones are required to carry what are called remote ID transponders. That is a mechanism that transmits on publicly available Bluetooth. Like the position, altitude, [and] heading,” said Brendan Stewart, the company’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.
Stewart added that all their drones undergo flight tests, and he believes the mysterious sightings people report could actually be companies testing new equipment.
