purpleivan
Senior Member.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqkgl4nmp8lyo
https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/...ts-spark-major-operation-near-jersey-airport/
It may be relevant that these reports occurred on the first Friday and Saturday evenings after the clocks went back in the UK, by one hour (from British Summer Time to GMT), plus with Halloween the on Saturday there would be numerous parties, and other events, as well as fireworks events which are fairly common this weekend, due to Guy Fawkes (bonfire night) being only a few days away on the 5th November. Due to this, more people would likely be outside on those evenings than typical at this time of year, on a night which is darker (judged by the time on the clock) than the previous weekend.
Additionally, the weather was clear those evenings, allowing for easier sighting of distant planes and astronomical objects, potentially being misreported as drones. The previous weekend was partially cloudy with rain, so a contrast to the conditions for those out and about on weekend activities, for that weekend, compared with the Friday and Saturday of the nights of the drone reports.
The weather for those nights can be found here.
https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/@6619950/historic
There's plenty of air traffic nearby, with flights from airports around London, to Spain and Portugal, plus some transatlantic traffic between North American and Europe, passing close by, or over, the island of Jersey.
No mention in the reporting I've seen so far, as to whether the reports of drones were eyewitness statements only, or included videos, or radar.
Edit: Adding a comment to say it's just occurred to me, that the clocks going back in the UK a few days before the drone reports, probably has no relevance, as it would have been dark before 8pm both before and after the change.
Separate reporting can be found here.External Quote:
https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/...ts-spark-major-operation-near-jersey-airport/
I don't have access to historical ADSB data and there is very little information to go on about the drone reports themselves (no videos that I could find), so not much to look into currently, as to what might be misreported as drones, but there is some information regarding time. 8:20pm - 10:30pm on Friday 30th October, 2026, according to the Jersey Evening Post and at 8:05pm Saturday 31st October, 2026, according to the BBC. Time was the same as GMT for both nights.External Quote:
It may be relevant that these reports occurred on the first Friday and Saturday evenings after the clocks went back in the UK, by one hour (from British Summer Time to GMT), plus with Halloween the on Saturday there would be numerous parties, and other events, as well as fireworks events which are fairly common this weekend, due to Guy Fawkes (bonfire night) being only a few days away on the 5th November. Due to this, more people would likely be outside on those evenings than typical at this time of year, on a night which is darker (judged by the time on the clock) than the previous weekend.
Additionally, the weather was clear those evenings, allowing for easier sighting of distant planes and astronomical objects, potentially being misreported as drones. The previous weekend was partially cloudy with rain, so a contrast to the conditions for those out and about on weekend activities, for that weekend, compared with the Friday and Saturday of the nights of the drone reports.
The weather for those nights can be found here.
https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/@6619950/historic
There's plenty of air traffic nearby, with flights from airports around London, to Spain and Portugal, plus some transatlantic traffic between North American and Europe, passing close by, or over, the island of Jersey.
No mention in the reporting I've seen so far, as to whether the reports of drones were eyewitness statements only, or included videos, or radar.
Edit: Adding a comment to say it's just occurred to me, that the clocks going back in the UK a few days before the drone reports, probably has no relevance, as it would have been dark before 8pm both before and after the change.
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