Copenhagen airport closure due to reported drone activity

[jarlrmai]

I found the spot where one of the CPH "drones" was filmed! And it matches 100% with the famous little plane that flew over 10 minutes before the shutdown!

Source: https://youtu.be/b3o3S6S5Gt8


What are the odds? An airport staff filmed what he thought was a drone, right before a real Russian drone was there and was reported by the airport.

Thats nice! Can you post the sitrec link?

 

[ThomasH]

@ThomasH this is great. Have you also looked at the other clip within the TV2 video, filmed from a slightly different location near the terminals? I would guess filmed by the same person within a few minutes, potentially of the other pass by that plane.

View attachment 84599
https://tv2.dk/reel/2025-09-23-her-ses-droner-i-luften-over-koebenhavns-lufthavn-6379962402112

No not yet, but I can confirm this location is not a public area, it's under construction and is filmed out of the window where they're building.
But it's flying the wrong way, so it doesn't seem to be the plane.
*EDIT* maybe it just is the same passing as the other clip. I didn't think the zoom was right, but it's not total off.

 

[ThomasH]

Thats nice! Can you post the sitrec link?

https://www.metabunk.org/sitrec/?custom=https://sitrec.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/17922/CPH drone was a Plane/20250930_185627.js

It would be so cool, if we could animate the camera panning, zoom etc.

 

[Kyle Ferriter]

No not yet, but I can confirm this location is not a public area, it's under construction and is filmed out of the window where they're building.
But it's flying the wrong way, so it doesn't seem to be the plane.

Yeah just realized it was the wrong way so that rules that out. The video itself looks like it could have been filmed in this area here near this construction area, so if it is of the same plane, OY-CDT, it is at a different time.

I think one of the windows on the side of this building are a possible viewpoint though, for the northbound flight path of OY-CDT, around 18:08UTC.

See flight path:

Lines up with:

 

[ThomasH]

Yeah just realized it was the wrong way so that rules that out. The video itself looks like it could have been filmed in this area here near this construction area, so if it is of the same plane, OY-CDT, it is at a different time.

I think one of the windows on the side of this building are a possible viewpoint though, for the northbound flight path of OY-CDT, around 18:08UTC.
View attachment 84600

See flight path:
View attachment 84601

Lines up with:
View attachment 84602

Yeah but I don't think it looks like that today, you can see that edge in the top.
In Sitrec it looks like the ground height and zoom etc. is right.

https://www.metabunk.org/sitrec/?cu.../17922/CPH Drone 2nd video/20250930_192222.js

If the other clip is the same plane, filmed 1 minute later but from a different place!!
Then a minimum of 2 (TWO) airport employed thought they saw a drone, ten minutes before "the airport" saw a real drone.

 

[Kyle Ferriter]

If the other clip is the same plane, filmed 1 minute later but from a different place!!
Then a minimum of 2 (TWO) airport employed thought they saw a drone, ten minutes before "the airport" saw a real drone.

I think 18:08 for that clip, not 18:20. Giving the employee ~10-11 minutes to walk down the terminal and then outside near the location you identified, potentially seeing the first pass of OY-CDT over the runway 12/30 at ~18:17 during this, and then film the 2nd pass of OY-CDT from outside the end of the terminal over runway 12/30 at ~18:19, as your sitrec+video shows. They could have also potentially used an airport ground vehicle to go around the stretch of gates between the two locations, or one of those motorized carts to traverse inside the terminals faster.

Here is a rough sketch of those paths I'm thinking for the camera person. With Clip 1 filmed at 18:08 and Clip 2 filmed at 18:19.

 

[Mick West]

https://www.metabunk.org/sitrec/?custom=https://sitrec.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/17922/CPH drone was a Plane/20250930_185627.js

It would be so cool, if we could animate the camera panning, zoom etc.

Yeah, that is something I'll have to add. People are always waving the camera around and zooming, so it's hard to see they are the same sometimes.

With your recreation, I'd add polygons in GE to match the lights. See attached. It's fiddly to line up the exact position, height, and time to match the lights.

 

[ThomasH]

I think 18:08 for that clip, not 18:20. Giving the employee ~10-11 minutes to walk down the terminal and then outside near the location you identified, potentially seeing the first pass of OY-CDT over the runway 12/30 at ~18:17 during this, and then film the 2nd pass of OY-CDT from outside the end of the terminal over runway 12/30 at ~18:19, as your sitrec+video shows. They could have also potentially used an airport ground vehicle to go around the stretch of gates between the two locations, or one of those motorized carts to traverse inside the terminals faster.

Here is a rough sketch of those paths I'm thinking for the camera person. With Clip 1 filmed at 18:08 and Clip 2 filmed at 18:19.
View attachment 84604

I think the previous path it too far away, and the camera only zooms in about 3 times in the clip.
And besides, it's so far away no one would find it interesting and film it.

 

[ThomasH]

Yeah, that is something I'll have to add. People are always waving the camera around and zooming, so it's hard to see they are the same sometimes.

With your recreation, I'd add polygons in GE to match the lights. See attached. It's fiddly to line up the exact position, height, and time to match the lights.

Cool! But how can I move them?
It's sad the resolution is not better in map box.

Yes the animation would be cool, because when trying to convince people, they have to have se the same picture, otherwise they can't see the similarity ..like we can.

 

[Kyle Ferriter]

I think the previous path it too far away, and the camera only zooms in about 3 times in the clip.
And besides, it's so far away no one would find it interesting and film it.

I'm not sure I fully agree yet that it's too far. I do agree it is odd that someone would be filming. It would be helpful to know what the up-to-date buildings are in that construction area but it really looks like this field of view below, or one very very similar. The possible angles are very constrained because of how few degrees it is over the building, and where it goes behind the higher part of the building. And those angled things (skylights/windows?) on the roof and the lightposts can be arranged appropriately to match the video.

It could be also important to note that this OY-CDT track uses barometric altitude, not GPS altitude. They broadcasted no GPS altitude. That could be relevant to these very narrow viable angles here.

I think it would be quite a coincidence for OY-CDT to be flying this ADS-B path ~10 minutes before the other video that is also showing OY-CDT, nearby, possibly filmed by the same person. It's possible it is a different aircraft, like a non-ADSB helicopter perhaps. But idk.

If I had to place a bet right now I'd say this window. Obviously if there is a new building constructed here then this window might not be it, but perhaps the new building has a window along the same line of sight?

At 18:08:20UTC, OY-CDT was ~3.7 miles (location: 55.62882, 12.55112) from the side of that building according to FR24.

I happen to have a video on hand of a low-altitude in-flight plane viewed somewhat laterally from a distance of 3.35 miles. The rightmost plane in the video in the Sitrec link below, which the Sitrec camera is tracking (and is modeled as a Boeing 737 Max 8 (129 ft 8 in long)). The rightmost plane in the video below is a Boeing 777-206 ER (209 ft 1 in long?), which is much larger than OY-CDT (Socata Trinidad TB-20, length: 25 ft 3 in).

https://www.metabunk.org/sitrec/?cu...BOS_planes_20241206_204532/20250930_203700.js

 

[Kyle Ferriter]

New report from Brønnøysund Airport, Norway around 8pm local time Tuesday (2025-09-30 18:00 UTC). Police received the call at 18:17 UTC.

https://www.aftenposten.no/norge/i/...taarnet-om-droner-naer-broennoeysund-lufthavn

Spoiler: Original Norwegian

Nye meldinger fra tårnet om droner nær Brønnøysund lufthavn

Politiet rykket ut etter meldinger om droner så nær Brønnøysund lufthavn at tårnet kunne observere dem ved 20-tiden tirsdag kveld.

Publisert: 30.09.2025 22:01 | Oppdatert: 30.09.2025 22:23

– Vi har vært og sett etter dem. Vi fikk meldinger om droner i nærheten av flyplassen, såpass nært at tårnet kunne se dem, sier operasjonsleder Kai Eriksen i Nordland politidistrikt til Brønnøysunds Avis.

Politiet fikk melding om dronen klokka 20.17 tirsdag kveld.

Chatgpt translation:

New reports from the tower about drones near Brønnøysund Airport

Police responded after reports of drones so close to Brønnøysund Airport that the tower could observe them around 8 p.m. Tuesday evening.

Published: 30.09.2025 22:01 | Updated: 30.09.2025 22:23

"We have been out to look for them. We received reports of drones near the airport, close enough that the tower could see them," says operations manager Kai Eriksen in the Nordland Police District to *Brønnøysunds Avis*.

Police received the report about the drone at 8:17 p.m. Tuesday evening.

Google search found this report from Sept 28 as well.
https://www.nrk.no/nyheter/avinor_-...ervasjon-ved-bronnoysund-lufthavn--1.17589585

Spoiler: Original Norwegian

28. september 2025 kl. 21:13
Droneobservasjoner Nyhetssenter Nordland
Avinor: Fly omdirigert etter droneobservasjon ved Brønnøysund lufthavn
– Det har blitt observert droner innenfor forbudssonen ved Brønnøysund lufthavn. Ett fly er omdirigert til alternativ lufthavn, sier pressevakt Karoline Pedersen til NRK.
Det var VG som først omtalte hendelsen. De har fått bekreftet at Widerøes WF715-fly som kom fra Bodø og skulle via Brønnøysund til Trondheim, valgte å fly direkte til Trondheim.

Politiet er varslet. Pedersen understreker at flyet ble omdirigert av sikkerhetsmessige årsaker.

– Vi tar ingen sjanser når det kommer til slike observasjoner, sier pressevakten.

Politiet vedtok lørdag å skjerpe dronereglene rundt fire lufthavner i Nordland som følge av mulige droneobservasjoner på Ørland hovedflystasjon.

Brønnøysund lufthavn var en av disse, sammen med Bodø lufthavn, Evenes lufthavn og Andenes lufthavn.

Forbudssonen er utvidet fra fem til ti kilometer fra flyplassene, og gjelder frem til mandag klokken 12.

Translation:

September 28, 2025 at 21:13
Drone Observations – News Center Nordland

Avinor: Flight diverted after drone observation at Brønnøysund Airport
– Drones have been observed within the no-fly zone at Brønnøysund Airport. One aircraft was diverted to an alternate airport, says press officer Karoline Pedersen to NRK.
VG was the first to report the incident. They confirmed that Widerøe's WF715 flight, which came from Bodø and was supposed to go via Brønnøysund to Trondheim, instead chose to fly directly to Trondheim.
Police have been notified. Pedersen emphasizes that the flight was diverted for safety reasons.
– We take no chances when it comes to such observations, says the press officer.
On Saturday, police decided to tighten drone regulations around four airports in Nordland following possible drone observations at Ørland Air Base.
Brønnøysund Airport was one of them, along with Bodø Airport, Evenes Airport, and Andenes Airport.
The restricted zone has been extended from five to ten kilometers around the airports and will remain in effect until Monday at 12:00.

 

[ThomasH]

I'm not sure I fully agree yet that it's too far. I do agree it is odd that someone would be filming. It would be helpful to know what the up-to-date buildings are in that construction area but it really looks like this field of view below, or one very very similar. The possible angles are very constrained because of how few degrees it is over the building, and where it goes behind the higher part of the building. And those angled things (skylights/windows?) on the roof and the lightposts can be arranged appropriately to match the video.

It could be also important to note that this OY-CDT track uses barometric altitude, not GPS altitude. They broadcasted no GPS altitude. That could be relevant to these very narrow viable angles here.

I think it would be quite a coincidence for OY-CDT to be flying this ADS-B path ~10 minutes before the other video that is also showing OY-CDT, nearby, possibly filmed by the same person. It's possible it is a different aircraft, like a non-ADSB helicopter perhaps. But idk.



View attachment 84611

If I had to place a bet right now I'd say this window. Obviously if there is a new building constructed here then this window might not be it, but perhaps the new building has a window along the same line of sight?
View attachment 84612

At 18:08:20UTC, OY-CDT was ~3.7 miles (location: 55.62882, 12.55112) from the side of that building according to FR24.

View attachment 84606

I happen to have a video on hand of a low-altitude in-flight plane viewed somewhat laterally from a distance of 3.35 miles. The rightmost plane in the video in the Sitrec link below, which the Sitrec camera is tracking (and is modeled as a Boeing 737 Max 8 (129 ft 8 in long)). The rightmost plane in the video below is a Boeing 777-206 ER (209 ft 1 in long?), which is much larger than OY-CDT (Socata Trinidad TB-20, length: 25 ft 3 in).

https://www.metabunk.org/sitrec/?cu...BOS_planes_20241206_204532/20250930_203700.js

My problem is the FOV. For the distant plane to match in height, I have to set the FOV in the wide shot to 27 degree vertical. Since the video is shot vertically, it's a 27 degree HFOV, and that's around 85 mm on a normal camera zooming in to 280mm. The start frames looks like a standard wide shot to me.

If it was the late pass the camera goes from HFOV 110 to 44 - that's roughly the 13mm (ultra wide 0.6X) to 45mm (49mm 2X) in a Samsung S24 etc.

 

[Kyle Ferriter]

My problem is the FOV. For the distant plane to match in height, I have to set the FOV in the wide shot to 27 degree vertical. Since the video is shot vertically, it's a 27 degree HFOV, and that's around 85 mm on a normal camera zooming in to 280mm. The start frames looks like a standard wide shot to me.

If it was the late pass the camera goes from HFOV 110 to 44 - that's roughly the 13mm (ultra wide 0.6X) to 45mm (49mm 2X) in a Samsung S24 etc.

I very crudely used Google Earth to estimate the clip to start with a ~28º horizontal FOV for the view from the first lower window in my earlier screenshot of the building. Where that red line on the ground goes back to above. (I updated it below to be a different window). So it's good we came to an approximately same value with different methods, at least. For the nearer window, the 2nd window from left on the upper level, I get something closer to 34º horizontal. And after zoom, more like 12º. But again this could all be off by a bit because I'm really just eyeballing it on Google Earth.

I've drawn polygons about matching the flat layers of the terminal structure that is being looked at in the above^ line of sight. I don't know how to tilt polygons or draw the angled piece but this at least gives a sense.

https://www.metabunk.org/sitrec/?cu.../17922/CPH Drone 2nd video/20250930_192222.js

I took your sitrec because I don't have the video downloaded, and set the lat/long to
55.628297729988404, 12.646629296837764 (the 2nd upper window from the left on the building on the right)
And time to 18:07:55UTC.
And set the camera altitude to 27ft AGL. Used a surface under the window to measure the altitude above AGL.

Link:
https://www.metabunk.org/sitrec/?cu...m/17113/clip1_upperwindow2/20251001_042116.js

From ADSB track, it does look like the plane is moving too slowly at this distance. Like it seems like it doesn't move to the right and go behind the building quickly enough. But I think it is wild that it lines up this well, only 10 minutes before the other video, if this isn't what it was.

Here is that initial view: (NOTE: plane drawn at 10x scale)

buildings.kmz polygons are attached just for those shapes in the view of the camera.

 

[ThomasH]

I very crudely used Google Earth to estimate the clip to start with a ~28º horizontal FOV for the view from the first lower window in my earlier screenshot of the building. Where that red line on the ground goes back to above. (I updated it below to be a different window). So it's good we came to an approximately same value with different methods, at least. For the nearer window, the 2nd window from left on the upper level, I get something closer to 34º horizontal. And after zoom, more like 12º. But again this could all be off by a bit because I'm really just eyeballing it on Google Earth.

View attachment 84618

I've drawn polygons about matching the flat layers of the terminal structure that is being looked at in the above^ line of sight. I don't know how to tilt polygons or draw the angled piece but this at least gives a sense.

I took your sitrec because I don't have the video downloaded, and set the lat/long to
55.628297729988404, 12.646629296837764 (the 2nd upper window from the left on the building on the right)
And time to 18:07:55UTC.
And set the camera altitude to 27ft AGL. Used a surface under the window to measure the altitude above AGL.
View attachment 84619

Link:
https://www.metabunk.org/sitrec/?cu...m/17113/clip1_upperwindow2/20251001_042116.js

From ADSB track, it does look like the plane is moving too slowly at this distance. Like it seems like it doesn't move to the right and go behind the building quickly enough. But I think it is wild that it lines up this well, only 10 minutes before the other video, if this isn't what it was.

Here is that initial view: (NOTE: plane drawn at 10x scale)
View attachment 84620

buildings.kmz polygons are attached just for those shapes in the view of the camera.

Hmm you might be right!
BTW the ramp you see is this one, it's longer today. ..or at least yesterday, because I was standing right behind that window

 

[Kyle Ferriter]

@ThomasH I do see this site describing the construction project though, it is expanding that building all along the front and when done those specific windows on Google Earth would no longer exist. Do you know what the status of this construction project is?

EDIT: e.g. is there any possible viewpoints/windows further out (towards the viewer in the view below), or higher off the ground, in a new portion of the building?

Source:https://vilhelmlauritzen.com/project/terminal-3-expansion-copenhagen-airport

 

[Kyle Ferriter]

This sitrec link below has the camera at 30ft AGL and the camera slightly moved to the right "into" the building, and cylinders where the skylights are (at least according to Google Earth's 3D visuals). Again idk how to draw tilted surfaces. I did notice the 2D and 3D visuals on Google Earth Pro are offset slightly, so my first attempt to draw the skylights was off and I had to move them all over a little bit. Slightly concerning and means this all might not be too exact.

(edit cleaned up the building objects)
https://www.metabunk.org/sitrec/?cu...113/tv2_clip1_upperwindow2/20251001_052407.js

I think the only two things still bothering me about this are:
- The size of the aircraft. The Socata TB-20 is even smaller than the Rockwell AC690.
- These parameters seem to show the aircraft to move too slowly to the right.

 

[Trailblazer]

@ThomasH this is great. Have you also looked at the other clip within the TV2 video, filmed from a slightly different location near the terminals? I would guess filmed by the same person within a few minutes, potentially of the other pass by that plane.

View attachment 84599
https://tv2.dk/reel/2025-09-23-her-ses-droner-i-luften-over-koebenhavns-lufthavn-6379962402112

I located that one a few days ago and it looks like it matches the more distant path of the plane before it did the low pass. But I didn't put it in Sitrec.

I do wonder whether this actually might have been the same thing (helicopter?) as filmed from the Norwegian plane at a later time.

The light pattern doesn't seem to match the second clip, the one filmed by the airport employee and matched by @ThomasH above - but it does look like the pattern in the clip from the Norwegian plane.

I wish media outlets would post the time of the videos they show.

 

[jarlrmai]

Again idk how to draw tilted surfaces

You can't afaik, all the format allows for is a polygon with extended sides, it's essentially instructions to place some points at certain coordinates and then draw a line around them and also extrude it up and draw a fill.

 

[Trailblazer]

Oh I've got news
...have to make a video before I break it here.
I talked to a guy in the airport.....

Did you speak to the actual person who filmed it? What we really need is the timestamps of these videos so we can sort out what was the plane and what wasn't.

It seems odd that anyone would be filming OY-CDT at 18:08 UTC as it was some miles away from the airport and hadn't yet made any close/low passes. And this was (coincidentally or not!) also about 10-15 minutes before the first drone sighting was reported. Why would it be considered out of the ordinary?

 

[ThomasH]

Did you speak to the actual person who filmed it? What we really need is the timestamps of these videos so we can sort out what was the plane and what wasn't.

It seems odd that anyone would be filming OY-CDT at 18:08 UTC as it was some miles away from the airport and hadn't yet made any close/low passes. And this was (coincidentally or not!) also about 10-15 minutes before the first drone sighting was reported. Why would it be considered out of the ordinary?

No I just asked a guy working outside, he could see where it was right away.
The one I presented is a 100% match, I think that's debunked.
The other one is strange, I admit Kyle and Trailblazer's earlier plane teori is better, but really strange to film that plane - unless it's the other way around, that they have heard rumours of a drone and looked for it ?

 

[ThomasH]

@ThomasH I do see this site describing the construction project though, it is expanding that building all along the front and when done those specific windows on Google Earth would no longer exist. Do you know what the status of this construction project is?

EDIT: e.g. is there any possible viewpoints/windows further out (towards the viewer in the view below), or higher off the ground, in a new portion of the building?

View attachment 84623
Source:https://vilhelmlauritzen.com/project/terminal-3-expansion-copenhagen-airport

I sometimes work as a technician at the airport, I'm there Friday, then I can take a picture from the window we see in the middle of the video.
I think it's the same place now, but let's see Friday.

 

[Trailblazer]

I have also located where this video was filmed: showing the arrival of the helicopter at Copenhagen airport at around 22:15 local time:



This is on the perimeter road (Kystvejen) to the northeast side of the airport. Google Maps location.

If we assume that the object seen in the clips from the Norwegian plane is the same helicopter, we now have two angles and can refine the flight path that would appear like this from both vantage points.

I haven't gone into huge detail with this, I just eyeballed it and used an altitude of 100 metres, but I got this path:

That would be consistent with the helicopter arriving from the northwest (direction of central Copenhagen), then turning over the airport to head back westwards to the Naviair HQ.

I have been speaking to a journalist who has been trying to pin down the source of the Norwegian videos, but he has asked me not to say any more at this stage.

 

[flarkey]

That would be consistent with the helicopter arriving from the northwest (direction of central Copenhagen), then turning over the airport to head back westwards to the Naviair HQ.

I have been speaking to a journalist who has been trying to pin down the source of the Norwegian videos, but he has asked me not to say any more at this stage.

If that's the case then Copenhagen ATC must have a record of the helicopter transiting through their airspace.

 

[Kyle Ferriter]

You can't afaik, all the format allows for is a polygon with extended sides, it's essentially instructions to place some points at certain coordinates and then draw a line around them and also extrude it up and draw a fill.

I haven't found a way to do it in Google Earth but you can do it if you write the KML manually.

 

[Kyle Ferriter]

I have also located where this video was filmed: showing the arrival of the helicopter at Copenhagen airport at around 22:15 local time:



This is on the perimeter road (Kystvejen) to the northeast side of the airport. Google Maps location.

If we assume that the object seen in the clips from the Norwegian plane is the same helicopter, we now have two angles and can refine the flight path that would appear like this from both vantage points.

I haven't gone into huge detail with this, I just eyeballed it and used an altitude of 100 metres, but I got this path:

View attachment 84630

That would be consistent with the helicopter arriving from the northwest (direction of central Copenhagen), then turning over the airport to head back westwards to the Naviair HQ.

I have been speaking to a journalist who has been trying to pin down the source of the Norwegian videos, but he has asked me not to say any more at this stage.

This is extremely helpful!

It also matches my initial thoughts for the path of a law enforcement helicopter which approached and flew over after the shutdown, inferred from all the constraints discussed by everyone in this thread for the NRK video(s) from the Norwegian plane. (Ignore the timestamp and pink lines below for now, they could be wrong, and its very sensitive to where SE-RTM and OE-IJW are placed).

I was also getting a sense from what I was reading that Danish police do not maintain their own air fleets but rather do air operations through the Danish Air Force? Implying maybe law enforcement aircraft would need to come from a more distant air base, not from a police facility in the Copenhagen area. I was finding this a little hard to believe, and thinking they must keep some helicopters either at the airport or at the retired air field Værløse nearer to Copenhagen, or somewhere else nearby. But maybe not?

 

[Trailblazer]

Your path is almost identical to mine (or at least the two straight segments are - we don't know how the helicopter moved between the two clips.

If the conjecture is right then the Facebook video I posted in post #302 is taken at about the same time as clip 1 from the Norwegian plane.

One thing that makes me wonder though is the light configuration. The Facebook video seems to show two solid lights, red at the front and white at the black, with no visible strobe. The Norwegian video seems to show two solid lights, green at the front and white at the back, but also a red strobe light slightly above the other two. The red and green lights are consistent with port/starboard navigation lights, but why is the strobe not visible on the Facebook video from the perimeter road?

 

[Kyle Ferriter]

This article is making the rounds now. It could be something nefarious. But it also sounds like just some tourists flying a consumer quadcopter without sufficiently checking or following the airspace rules there. The Svolvær airport controlled airspace is a 5km radius and they flew their drone 4km away.

https://www.vg.no/nyheter/i/B0op60/droneflyvning-i-nordland-en-person-siktet

I think this kind of thing is pretty common all over the world, and law enforcement does not have the resources to properly enforce these rules and so violations have kind of just been happening, with occasional mild enforcement, and not been treated as a major concern, until situations like now where everyone is really tense and more vigilant watching for and responding to these small drones. The same thing happens in Boston. Class B airspace is very large. I'm sure there are airspace violations which technically happen from these small drones, but usually it doesn't pose a direct threat and there's no way to really enforce the law well at the moment. The only arrest I'm aware of happened Dec 16, 2024, and I think it only happened because police were hyper vigilant and sensitized to the drone issue at the time.

Short snippet translated:

The police reported the incident at 4:19 p.m. Wednesday. They had received a tip that a drone was flying in Svolvær.

– The alleged drone pilot has been charged with flying a drone too close to the airport in Svolvær, says operations manager Morten Aleksander Sørensen to VG.

One drone and accompanying equipment have been seized.

The area where the drone was flown is located in a zone where this is prohibited.

 

[maico]

If the Russian shadow fleet were launching long-range drones would air defence radar pick them up or are they way too small?


Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-jOSQo352M

 

[Mendel]

If the Russian shadow fleet were launching long-range drones would air defence radar pick them up or are they way too small?

long-range drones are not small, compared to light aircraft

 

[Trailblazer]

Short snippet translated:

The police reported the incident at 4:19 p.m. Wednesday. They had received a tip that a drone was flying in Svolvær.

– The alleged drone pilot has been charged with flying a drone too close to the airport in Svolvær, says operations manager Morten Aleksander Sørensen to VG.

One drone and accompanying equipment have been seized.

The area where the drone was flown is located in a zone where this is prohibited.

This just shows again how quickly real drones are spotted and the operators tracked down. The contrast with the "flap" drones is obvious.

 

[Trailblazer]

"On Tuesday evening, multiple drones were spotted near Brønnøysund Airport, Norway, with some flying close to the control tower around 9:50 PM local time. "We searched for them after receiving reports of drones near the airport, so close that the tower could see them," said Kai Eriksen, operations leader for Nordland Police District, as reported by Brønnøysunds Avis."

Source: https://x.com/theinformant_x/status/1973125701294546985

The drone was visible from the tower but quickly moved northeast.

Source: https://x.com/FaytuksNetwork/status/1973124648305824226



By coincidence a Dash-8 passed close to the airport at 9:50pm local time, and moved off to the northeast.

 

[JMartJr]

Drones were sighted over critical infrastructure in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein last week, including a submarine shipyard and a power plant, authorities said on Wednesday.

The state borders Denmark, where numerous drones have been sighted around airports in the past week, prompting temporary closures and serious concern from Danish politicians and NATO allies.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/drones-sighted-over-submarine-yard-160931607.html

As happens with flaps, it seems to be continuing to spread...

 

[Kyle Ferriter]

By coincidence a Dash-8 passed close to the airport at 9:50pm local time, and moved off to the northeast.

There appears to be a set of Dash 8 planes that fly these hopper flights up and down the coastal areas of Norway (all of Norway?) every day, using these small airports. This Widerøe airline has a fleet of 50-51 aircraft and all but 3 of them are Dash 8.
https://www.planespotters.net/airline/Wideroe
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/airlines/wf-wif/fleet
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/airlines/wf-wif/routes

The Brønnøysund airport seems to overwhelmingly see Dash 8. (the DH3 listings here look like errors, the DH1 and DH3 are variants of the Dash 8 and some of the DH3 entries here are incorrectly duplicating some of the DH8 flight numbers)
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/airports/bnn/arrivals
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_type_designators

New report from Brønnøysund Airport, Norway around 8pm local time Tuesday (2025-09-30 18:00 UTC). Police received the call at 18:17 UTC.

^A Dash 8 also landed around 8:03 local. And another Dash 8 landed at nearby Mosjoen airport (35 miles away) around the same time. And then another landed at nearby Sandnessjoen airport at about 8:15.

These aren't busy airports, and these seem to be one of the most common types of planes that fly through them, so there's no way airport staff would confuse it right...

This may be overly nitpicking but the phrasing that post uses also says "visible from the tower", not "the tower detected" or "the tower saw", etc. What about someone who was not part of the tower staff, standing near the tower...

 

[John J.]

If the Russian shadow fleet were launching long-range drones...

@maico linked to a You Tube video about a Russian-controlled tanker, which was near Denmark at the time of the drone reports, being boarded by French personnel. The BBC is now carrying this story:

"French troops board oil tanker linked to Russian 'shadow fleet'", BBC News, 01 October 2025, Hugh Schofield, Danai Nesta Kupemba
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2j1gynjddo

The Boracay left Russia last month and was off the coast of Denmark when unidentified drones forced the temporary closure of several airports last week. It has been anchored off western France for a few days. ...{French President Emmanuel] Macron refused to be drawn on the question of whether the ship may have been used as a platform for the drone flights that caused such disruption in Denmark last week. Prosecutors in Brest have opened an investigation on two counts: refusing an order to stop and failing to justify the nationality of the ship's flag. ...The Boracay, also known as Pushpa and Kiwala, is a Benin-flagged vessel but has been listed under UK and EU sanctions against Russia.

 

[FatPhil]

@maico linked to a You Tube video about a Russian-controlled tanker, which was near Denmark at the time of the drone reports, being boarded by French personnel. The BBC is now carrying this story:

"French troops board oil tanker linked to Russian 'shadow fleet'", BBC News, 01 October 2025, Hugh Schofield, Danai Nesta Kupemba
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2j1gynjddo

The Boracay left Russia last month and was off the coast of Denmark when unidentified drones forced the temporary closure of several airports last week. It has been anchored off western France for a few days. ...{French President Emmanuel] Macron refused to be drawn on the question of whether the ship may have been used as a platform for the drone flights that caused such disruption in Denmark last week. Prosecutors in Brest have opened an investigation on two counts: refusing an order to stop and failing to justify the nationality of the ship's flag. ...The Boracay, also known as Pushpa and Kiwala, is a Benin-flagged vessel but has been listed under UK and EU sanctions against Russia.

Yup, that's been detained in our waters too - in April:

The vessel, the Kiwala, had been sanctioned due to past activities by both the EU and at least three non-EU countries (Canada, Switzerland and the U.K.) and was en route to the Russian port of Ust-Luga when it was intercepted.

According to Estonian authorities, the vessel lacks a flag state, meaning it is not permitted to sail on the open seas.

https://news.err.ee/1609662026/estonian-navy-detains-russian-shadow-fleet-oil-tanker

And our update as of today:

A prosecutor in Brest told the news agency that the investigation was launched after the crew failed to provide evidence of the ship's flag and ignored orders.
...
Britain and the EU imposed separate sanctions on the crudeoil tanker in October 2024 and February 2025.

The EU said the vessel was linked to the transport of Russian crude oil and petroleum products "while practising irregular and high-risk shipping practices".

Estonia released the Kiwala on April 26 after detaining it for sailing without a valid country flag. An inspection found over 40 deficiencies.

https://news.err.ee/1609816878/fran...el-previously-stopped-by-estonian-authorities

 

[Z.W. Wolf]

The following is a retread of the comment I left on the Skeptic Substack article:
The Great Drone Panic of 2024...and 1914
Guest columnist Robert Bartholomew

https://michaelshermer.substack.com/p/the-great-drone-panic-of-2024and


Let's sort out a common misunderstanding. UFO flaps shouldn't be called mass hysteria. Mass delusion is the better term.

Mass hysteria has a more accepted term: mass psychogenic illness.

A classic example of mass hysteria: Rumors sweep through a high school dance that the punch has been tampered with. People start throwing up and fainting all over the gym.

Another: Someone smells what they think is natural gas. "There's a gas leak, everyone!" People start choking and fainting.

Most are not responding to the rumor, they are responding primarily to the physical symptoms of other people. The rumors are secondary.

There's nothing in the punch and no gas leak. But a phenomenon known as psychological contagion or emotional resonance is in play. People who are more attuned to the feelings of others start feeling the same way, and have actual physical symptoms. Other, more stolid folk, stand around looking at them wondering what the heck is going on.


Mass delusion involves large groups sharing a false belief, often rooted in social or cultural narratives. It influences behavior - in this case going out at night scanning the skies - and expectations. The expectations influence perception. People really do "see" flying saucers or mystery drones, because seeing is a personal experience created by the brain moment by moment.

"I know what I saw" is true in a way. They really did "see" a flying saucer while looking at Venus. And they really did "see" a mystery drone while looking at a mundane 737.

Mass delusion is not a diagnoses. It's a concept. It is not universally accepted, nor has it been formally defined by some professional body. Nevertheless I think it's a useful concept.


There's a process that's amplifying misperception.

Only misperceptions are reported. No one reports seeing ordinary air traffic. Therefore only the most unreliable witnesses are selected.

Superspreaders are the most unreliable witnesses. Yet they account for the majority of the eyewitness accounts. Thus this delusion is being created by a small fraction of the population.

That's not quite right, as deliberate hoaxes are also being generated.

The media is amplifying this because they know a good story. That's capitalism. Stories are accepted at face value.

Lack of knowledge plays its part. No one seems to understand visual perception. No one seems to understand that in 2-D photos, there's no information as to size and distance. When presented with these videos, people are primed by the eyewitness testimony to "see" car sized drones at hundreds of feet rather than normal sized airliners at miles.

In a photo, the Sun - at 93,000,000 miles - can be the same size as a ping pong ball at a few feet.

Please see :"Forced Perspective Photography"

https://www.metabunk.org/threads/cl...ured-by-photographer.13182/page-3#post-302869

The second wave of amplification comes from the small percentage of the population who are eagerly consuming the stories. They all have their own paranoid/outlandish theories. Which they frame as wise and realistic evaluations.

Many people are highly skeptical of the mass delusion explanation. It makes no sense to them. They would rather believe in the most outlandish stories than in the fallibility of the human race.

The mass delusion explanation is framed as outlandish nonsense, while an Iranian mothership is framed as a wise but uncomfortable truth about the International Situation and the Dangerous Times in which we live.

The argument goes: People are reluctant to face uncomfortable truths. So they come up with a lullaby argument - the mass delusion explanation.

Mass delusion would be an outlandish explanation if it were argued that 100% or even 50% of the general population was seeing mystery drones that aren't there. But that's not the argument. This mass delusion involves only a small fraction of the population. And the awful and irresponsible way the media is reporting this story.


The "All of them can't be wrong" fallacy

Yes they can, because we're only hearing from the ones who got it wrong.

Scenario: You give a hundred thousand people a driving test. Ten thousand of them get question 10 wrong. That means ten thousand people were wrong. All of them, without exception.

"Wait, a minute. Are you telling me ten thousand people could all be wrong?"

Yeah, they could. By definition. But are you counting the people who got the question right?

On a test... yes you do.

But the right people aren't counted during a UFO Flap.

A million people look at Venus. Nine hundred ninety nine thousand nine hundred of them see Venus... or at least something they take to be a star or something unremarkable.


A hundred people see a flying saucer.

"Well, all of them couldn't be wrong."

Yeah, they could. Because only the people who made a mistake were selected out. They're the ones who got the question wrong.

But what about all the people who got the question right? They're the "missing people" who weren't wrong. But when it comes to UFOs, they're invisible.

The misperceptions are amplified to the point that they seem super important.



The logical fallacy here is misleading or incomplete statistics (a form of lying with statistics). By not considering the majority of people who are not "seeing" or reporting mystery drones, the conclusion misrepresents the data as universal, implying that everyone who looked at a particular aircraft would "see" it as a mystery drone.
[More specifically, it's cherry-picking evidence or ignoring the denominator, which produces a distorted impression of frequency or significance.]

In terms of analytical statistics, the error is a failure to report the denominator or context of the proportion, leading to an overgeneralization. It omits key statistical measures like the sample size and the success rate, which are essential for accurate interpretation.

 

[jarlrmai]

A Reddit Copenhagen sighting


Source: https://old.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1nvya7m/uapdrone_in_copenhagen_city_110_2025/


I've attached the files the OP shared.

OP gave this specific location

www.google.com/maps/place/55.680971,12.563275/@55.680971,12.563275,594m/

Which matches the photos and the videos (once brightened)

https://www.metabunk.org/sitrec/?custom=https://sitrec.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/11433/Reddit Copenhagen 23_39_02/20251002_111409.js

Looks like an airliner and ironically a Danish military plane flying observation loops, probably looking for mysterious drones.

 

[JMartJr]

The following is a retread of the comment I left on the Skeptic Substack article:
The Great Drone Panic of 2024...and 1914

Nice -- I have saved that, rephrased some stuff and trimmed a bit, and will use it frequently in explaining how flaps work to folks who don't understand. Extremely helpful.

 

[TinFoilHat]

Drones were sighted over critical infrastructure in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein last week, including a submarine shipyard and a power plant, authorities said on Wednesday.

The state borders Denmark, where numerous drones have been sighted around airports in the past week, prompting temporary closures and serious concern from Danish politicians and NATO allies.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/drones-sighted-over-submarine-yard-160931607.html

As happens with flaps, it seems to be continuing to spread...

Yes they even shot down some drones in Poland. Russia does not care about borders and will fly drones all over Europe until stopped. Misidentifying airplanes with the actual Russian incursions happening in Europe is happening as well.

 

[Gary C]

Yes they even shot down some drones in Poland. Russia does not care about borders and will fly drones all over Europe until stopped. Misidentifying airplanes with the actual Russian incursions happening in Europe is happening as well.

Is anyone in the major EU media outlets pointing out that Russian military drones do not have civilian aircraft navigation or landing lights?