Video shows plane wreck near Connecticut, not New Jersey drone crash | Fact check

The claim: Video shows drone crash in New Jersey

A Dec. 16 Facebook reel (direct link, archive link) includes a video of emergency vehicles surrounding what appears to be an aircraft resting on a guardrail on the side of a highway.

“Drone Crashes!” reads the post’s caption, which includes the hashtags #newjersey and #ufo.

The post was shared more than 1,000 in two days. The footage and a similar claim were also shared on Instagram.

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Our rating: False

The video does not show a drone crash. The footage is from a Dec. 12 plane crash near the border of New York and Connecticut, according to media reports.

Video shows aftermath of plane crash near New York

A deluge of reports of drones flying unusually in the northeastern U.S. began circulating in mid-November, with more than 5,000 sightings reported as of Dec. 17. The sightings have sparked concerns about national security and airspace safety, but federal authorities have said there is no public safety risk.

The video shared on Facebook, however, does not show a crashed drone. Rather, it shows a small plane that crashed along Interstate 684 in Westchester County, New York, on Dec. 12, killing one person and injuring another, according to various news outlets. Footage and images from the scene match the scene shown in the Facebook video, showing the same small white plane in the same position on the side of the highway.

Fact check: No, that’s not a crashed drone. It’s a TIE fighter replica

A Federal Aviation Administration report about the incident said the pilot reported engine issues before the crash.

The New York State Police posted about the crash on X, alerting drivers to traffic closures on Interstate 684. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also issued a statement about the accident on Dec. 12, which confirmed one person died and another was injured.

White Plains is about 100 miles north of New Jersey, where the Facebook video claimed the crash happened and where witnesses have been reporting supposed drone sightings since mid-November.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who posted the Facebook video but did not immediately receive a response.

Lead Stories and PolitiFact also fact-checked the video

Our fact-check sources

• FAA, Dec. 12, FAA Statements on Aviation Accidents and Incidents
• FAA, Dec. 13, FAA Accident and Incident Notification(s): Notice(s) Created 13-DEC-24
• New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Dec. 12, Statement from Governor Kathy Hochul
• New York State Police, Dec. 12, X post
• Connecticut State Police, Dec. 13, Troopers Assist National Transportation Safety Board with Aircraft Accident on I-684 in Greenwich
• CBS News, Dec. 13, One dead in small plane crash along I-684 in New York’s Westchester County

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