On Friday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “The Story,” White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby stated that advice from New Jersey for people to request a HAZMAT response and the bomb squad if they encounter a downed drone “makes perfect sense to me” because with any aircraft, “You don’t know what it is and you don’t know what kind of fuel might be on board.”
Host Martha MacCallum asked, “In New Jersey, they sent out an intelligence bulletin…issued in December of 2024 with recommendations for encountering downed UAVs. And it says a downed or landed drone should not be approached. It says, request hazardous materials response unit or local HAZMAT team, and then it says, request the nearest bomb squad. Do you agree with those recommendations if one of these things comes into someone’s house or lands in their yard or they have to deal with it?”
Kirby answered, “Yeah, look, I haven’t seen that directive, but all of that makes perfect sense to me as a former military person if something like an aircraft of any kind lands in your backyard or close to you or your family, call the authorities, don’t approach it. You don’t know what it is and you don’t know what kind of fuel might be on board. You absolutely should just call the authorities, make sure you report it, don’t go near it, don’t touch it, you don’t want to get hurt.”
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