The recent epidemic of reported drone sightings across New York and New Jersey could be due to possible “gas leaks” or “radioactive material,” a subject matter expert said.

Reports of mysterious drone sightings in several states have drawn widespread attention from lawmakers and the public in recent weeks. John Ferguson, the CEO of Saxon Aerospace, a drone manufacturer in Kansas, weighed in on the issue in a TikTok post that went viral.

The FBI said it received more than 3,000 tips about drone sightings, with most of those reported sightings occurring at night.

In his nine-minute video, Ferguson offered a “drone assessment” and said the only reason an unmanned aircraft would be flown at night is if its operator is “looking for something.”

“My own guess is that these drones have no nefarious intent. If they are, then they are, but I doubt it. “I’m trying to smell something on the ground,” Ferguson said.

He added that the drones may be searching for gas leaks or pockets of radiation. He also said he believed the drones were looking for something “very important.”

In a series of follow-up videos, Ferguson said many of the drones appeared to comply with federal regulations and reiterated his theory.

Newsweek contacted Ferguson outside of normal business hours via TikTok for comment.

The lack of concrete answers about the origins of the unmanned aerial vehicles has led some lawmakers to accuse government agencies of hiding information, and the vacuum has led to the spread of theories about what the sightings could mean.

One of the more outlandish explanations is the Project Blue Beam conspiracy theory, which states that global elites are planning to stage a fake alien invasion.

The theory, put forward by Canadian journalist Serge Monast in the 1990s, is that this covert operation would establish a totalitarian world government by using advanced technology to fake otherworldly or supernatural events.

Following the drone sightings, the conspiracy theory experienced a revival online, with influential social media accounts posting about it and racking up millions of views.

On Sunday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas suggested that a Federal Aviation Administration rule change in September 2023 could be a reason for the increase in drone sightings.

“In September 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, changed the rules to allow drones to fly at night,” the Biden administration official told ABC News. This week.

Mayorkas continued, “And that might be one of the reasons why people are seeing more drones now than before, especially from morning to night.”

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