Mineola residents outside on the evening of Jan. 7 saw strange lights hovering and zooming in the sky. These lights certainly weren’t, as some jokingly suggested, UFOs; as several citizens discovered, they were drones.

Many regulations, trainings, and qualifications follow the rise of these popular remote aircraft. One such is the registration requirement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which states that any drone over .55 pounds which is used for non-recreational purposes must be registered.

According to the FAA, there are 84 aircraft registered in Wood County. While this, and other related aircraft registration information, is available on the FAA website, the FAA says that the registration information for drones is not publicly available. This is because minors aged 16 plus, whose information is protected, can register a drone.

The City of Mineola, the Mineola Civic Center, the Wood County Collins Field Airport, the Mineola Wisener Field Airport, and the Mineola Police Department are not associated with the drone flying. All said that they did not know who was flying them or why, but City Manager Cindy Karch suggested that it may be recreational flyers.

However, some of the organizations did have a reminder about the rules of flying these small aircraft.

“They can be very lethal for little airplanes… they can go through the bodies of little airplanes very quickly,” said Lupita Wisener, manager of the Mineola Wisener Field Airport. “(So) before they can fly on the airport, or near the airport, they have to ask permission.”

The FAA also cautions drone operators to proceed carefully – especially at night, when special regulations apply.

“(If) you’re flying at night, you might inadvertently overfly somebody, and you’re not allowed to fly over any people or moving vehicles,” said Paul Hamilton, an FAA representative. “Drones are not certified aircraft, and there’s no guarantee that they won’t suddenly malfunction.”

Hamilton emphasized that any drone operator, whether flying during the day or night, would have to avoid flying over any people or moving vehicles.

However, Hamilton suggested an interesting possibility for any future alleged sightings: satellites. Many residents from around the country, he said, actually see satellites when they think they’re seeing drones. A recent launch of Starlink satellites, sent above the atmosphere by SpaceX, has apparently caused the FAA many calls from curious citizens.

“Most drone sightings are not even drones,” he said.

Hamilton says that, when these Starlink satellites are launched, they look like a group of drones with bright lights flying in formation. If any citizen wants to see if their “drone” sighting is actually a satellite, Hamilton suggests referring to heavens-above.com, a website where “you can identify any satellites you may see and get a satellite schedule.”