Article by Debbie White June 23, 2021 (thesun.co.uk)
• On February 9, 2021 at 10.30 pm, a US Customs and Border Protection chopper crew told the Tucson Police Department an ‘unmanned aircraft system’, ie: a drone, was flying dangerously close to their helicopter near Tuscon, Arizona.
• According to the FBI, which has been investigating the matter, the drone appeared to launch from an area about five miles south of Tucson and flew across Tucson and north over Marana. For several hours, multiple law enforcement agencies tried unsuccessfully to locate the drone’s operator.
• The official report published by The Drive stated that it “maneuvered all over the city” while flying above 10,000 feet “in a manner to hamper [the Tucson Police Department’s] ability to track it visually… an erratic pattern as if the signal with its home station was getting weaker.” The drone also came worryingly close to a Kinder Morgan fuel terminal just west of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The drone then darted into controlled airspace around the military field, and the Tucson International Airport with police and border helicopter crews in hot pursuit.
• A Tucson Police helicopter pilot wrote that the crew “had hoped the [drone] would exhaust its battery reserves and be forced to land. [U]nfortunately, this was not the case”. The pilot believed the drone was “very sophisticated/ specialized and able to perform like no other UAS”. They lost it at about 14,000 feet as it traveled at speeds “well in excess of 100mph” – despite fleeing into a headwind.
• “Although we could not determine its exact size or characteristics we primarily tracked it by a single green non-blinking light illuminating from (underneath) the craft,” the pilot reported. It “was difficult for the police spotter to observe through night vision goggles”. But it was “obvious the (drone) controller had clear sight of both the helicopters tracking it by the way it would orbit us and abruptly fly behind us and attempt to avoid our visual contact”. After chasing the drone-like object for more than hour, both the customs and police choppers were forced to land and refuel. The UAS drone disappeared into cloud cover.
• FBI agents reported the drone as being “highly modified,” and making “erratic maneuvers”. The pilot’s report concluded: “It is unknown what the intentions of the sophisticated UAS were during its time near the Air Force Base, or how far away its origination/destination spot was. It was quite clear though that this was not like any other UAS that we have experienced.” Unfortunately no video recording was made of the bizarre incident.
• The FBI noted that “no one was injured and no other similar incidents have been reported involving this specific drone. “While the drone(s) did not come into direct contact with an airplane or cause a pilot to make an evasive maneuver, the actions are illegal and extremely dangerous.”
A UFO that suddenly appeared in Arizona’s sensitive air space flew at 100mph and
outran police choppers, amazing documents reveal.
The “extremely dangerous” object darted above fuel tanks at the Air Force Base before being chased by customs and border officials, says the FBI.
The unexplained flying object cropped up above fuel tanks west of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, reports The Drive.
It then darted into controlled airspace around the military field, and the Tucson International Airport – with cops and border crews in hot pursuit.
But they lost it at about 14,000 feet.
Plus it managed to out-fly the choppers by speeding away at more than 100mph – despite fleeing into a headwind.
The website – citing official reports – says it had a single green light underneath it, and it “was difficult for the police spotter to observe through night vision goggles”.
Unfortunately no video recording was made of the bizarre incident.
FBI agents reported it as being “highly modified,” and making “erratic maneuvers”.
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