The Mystery Drones Over Nebraska, 2019–20

Residents across western and central Nebraska started reporting unidentified drones around Christmas of 2019, watching them fly in coordinated grid formations during the night. The reports spread from eastern Colorado into Nebraska communities including Palisade, Grant, Indianola, Curtis, Hastings, Grand Island, Ord, and Neligh. No one was ever able to identify who operated the drones or why they were flying.

Witnesses described groups of six to 19 aerial objects with blinking lights, each approximately six feet in wingspan. They flew at altitudes between 200 and 500 feet, usually between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., some hovering and others moving in small coordinated formations. At least one witness observed them during daylight hours as well.

Missy Blackman and Charlie Smith in Palisade were among the first to notice the drones. They own Sodtown Sundries, the grocery store and bar in Palisade, which sits west of McCook in the southwest of the state. After seeing a friend’s post that the objects were over Enders about 20 miles away, Blackman stepped outside and counted two; later in the evening there were many more. “I think we counted 19 from my vantage point,” she said. Smith confirmed they “weren’t airplanes” because they were flying too low. Blackman looked at them through binoculars and saw no markings, only plain silver and white coloring.

Sheriff James Brueggeman of Perkins County, Nebraska, witnessed the drones while on patrol during a night shift. With 28 years in law enforcement, he said “In terms of aircraft flying at night and not being identified, this is a first for me personally.” He had heard about people wanting to shoot down the drones and urged residents to report sightings to law enforcement instead.

FAA emails obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests by Douglas D. Johnson, a volunteer researcher with the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies, show that by January 5 an FAA agent had spoken with sheriffs in 16 counties across Colorado and Nebraska, and each agency said at least one deputy had witnessed the activity. A private pilot with an aviation background reported December 29 that he observed approximately 12 larger drones with six-foot wingspans flying roughly 200 feet above ground level in a grid pattern over rural western Nebraska, covering 10 to 20 square miles. Some farmers and ranchers reported the drones flying directly over their farmsteads for two to three hours at a time despite high winds and storm-like conditions.

A Chase County sheriff’s deputy described seeing 30 to 50 flying objects operating independently with a larger “mothership” hovering for hours; the deputy estimated the larger object weighed well over 55 pounds. An unverified report mentioned the larger drone potentially landing at an airport in Imperial, Nebraska.

Sheriff’s departments across affected counties reported at least 30 nighttime sighting reports since mid-December. Residents speculated that the drones belonged to the government, a drug cartel, or a gas company conducting land surveys. The drones may have been legal under certain conditions, but flying any drone at night without an FAA waiver is illegal, and pilots also require waivers for coordinated formations or flights above 400 feet.

Morgan County Sheriff Dave Martin convened a closed-door meeting in Brush, Colorado, on January 6, 2020, attended by 77 people according to FAA notes, from the FBI, FAA, U.S. Air Force, Nebraska State Patrol, and sheriff’s offices across six Nebraska counties and 12 Colorado counties. FAA investigator Bumberger wrote that “the meeting did not provide an answer or new leads,” though it was agreed that an ad hoc “Drone Sightings Task Force” would carry the investigation forward.

The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office said the Air Force had denied involvement, and after Army and Pentagon offices also gave negative responses, the FAA concluded there was “high confidence these are not covert military activities.”

United States Representative Adrian Smith of Nebraska issued a statement on January 7, 2020 expressing concern and stating that authorities must protect the privacy and property rights of Nebraskans. Callers to Gov. Pete Ricketts’ monthly radio show were seeking answers too. “We’re being inundated with these drones,” said one caller, Byron from Palisade. The governor had no information to give, and he warned callers against trying to shoot down the drones.

In Grand Island, the police department conducted a short investigation after drones were spotted overhead but found no answers. Captain Jim Duering said they did not have “any reason to believe there is a criminal nexus to what the drones are doing so we aren’t considering it a police matter.”

In a December 31, 2019 email to FAA Chief of Staff Angela Stubblefield, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson observed that “not too long ago we would have called these ‘UFOs’.”

The Colorado Department of Public Safety concluded its investigation with a report stating that most sightings were attributable to planets, stars, commercial aircraft, and hobbyist drones. FAA spokesman Ian Gregor later told The Guardian, “We did not receive any information that enabled us to determine what exactly it was that people reported seeing and, if they were drones, who was flying them.”

Dawn George, who lives near Wray, Colorado, predicted how it would end while the drones were still flying: “All the sudden, it’s just going to stop and we’re not going to have answers,” she told the Chicago Tribune, adding, “It’s the fear of the unknown.” The reports dried up around the middle of January, and the FAA never determined who was flying them.