Monday, February 10, 2025

Is it a plane, drone, or UFO? Your questions answered here!

By: Eddy Hensley and Christina Crea

It’s a bird?… it’s a plane … it’s a UFO?… it’s… just a drone.

Lately, our Aviation UAS Program Coordinator Eddy Hensley has been asked about “unknown objects” in the sky, with some even asking if “they can shoot it down.”

No, you cannot shoot down a drone – that is a federal offense.

Also, please, never point lasers or bright lights at anything you see in the sky. It can disable pilots flying aircraft and is also a federal offense.

If you see drones, planes or helicopters with lights, they are on so they can be seen. It means that they are not trying to hide.

Most of the time, the drones, also referred to as Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS), are just doing their jobs. Drone jobs are quickly growing for a variety of daily uses across our state and world.

An aerial image captured by a drone showing a road washout with mud and dirt in Washington state.
Aerial image of a washout captured by a drone in Washington state

We use drones in the inspection and maintenance of our critical infrastructure. One of our drones was recently used for graffiti removal. It can remove graffiti from our roads while adding safety for maintenance crews and roadway users and reducing the use of critical resources previously used for this purpose.

On the left is a drone hovering in the air. It has a spray nozzle attached and a mist of paint can be seen flowing toward the concrete wall on the right. The paint is covering graffiti tags.
A drone is used to paint over graffiti in a pilot program to test the potential for drones to serve this purpose.

Drones are also used for geotechnical surveys of slopes and roads throughout the state, where assessing stability of terrain and landslides is risky for our maintenance and geotechnical crews.

Future uses currently being explored include avalanche mitigation in our mountain regions and vegetation control on the sides of our roadways.

Two WSDOT staff use a remote control to fly a Skdio Drone in the sky near a bridge to practice for future inspections in Washington state.
WSDOT staff learn how to fly a Skdio Drone to use it for future bridge inspections in Washington state.

Here are some points to consider if you see a drone:

  • Most aerial phenomena can be explained. A large amount of content on social media shows planes, helicopters, drones, celestial objects and satellites.
  • Do not shoot guns, lasers or high-powered lights at flying objects. You may end up hurting someone in the air or on the ground. Either way, you are breaking both state and federal laws.
  • Seeing a drone does not mean it is doing something wrong. Drones are used by utility companies for inspection, by public safety responding to emergencies, law enforcements for accident reconstruction and for many other legal commercial and recreational activities.
  • Drones can fly at night. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has rules that allow flights at night.
  • Do not confront drone pilots while they are flying their drones. It could pose a safety risk to bystanders. They are most often flying legally and safely. If you have a concern, contact your local law enforcement agency.
  • You can stay informed. There are flight phone applications for identifying recreational aircraft such as “FlightRadar24” for planes and helicopters or “Drone Scanner” for UAS. Be aware that not all aircraft or drones are required to broadcast their location. Also, the technology for drone Remote ID broadcasting is relatively new and may not be compatible with your personal electronic device.
  • If you feel a drone is operating illegally or not following FAA regulations, you should call local law enforcement or e-mail the FAA to report the sighting at 7-anm-sea-fsdo@faa.gov.

If you have any other questions regarding drones, contact Hensley at eddy.hensley@wsdot.wa.gov or 564-999-1040.

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