Idiots in New Jersey are endangering planes by sending balloon-borne red flares into the nighttime skies on a major approach to Newark Airport, authorities say.
A spate of 911 calls about the flares Tuesday night led the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office to open an investigation, and prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to formally warn pilots about the potential danger.
An aviation source said the sightings involve nine balloons with flares attached..
Similar sightings of multiple lights in the sky were reported in the area on Jan. 7 and Jan. 30.
Interfering with aviation is a federal crime.
In 2004, Morris County resident David Banach pointed a hand-held laser at a jet and a helicopter, and, after an FBI investigation, was sentenced to two years’ probation.