Shadows in the sky: East Coast gripped by drone mystery

On a crisp Friday night in Harwich, Massachusetts, bright lights hovered silently above a home for over an hour.

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Miles away in Virginia Beach, John Knight watched what he described as a "truck-sized" aircraft moving noiselessly over military installations. "It flew like a helicopter but made no noise," Knight would later tell The Virginian-Pilot. And in New Jersey, dozens of witnesses reported mysterious aircraft following the meandering path of the Raritan River since November, drawing curious eyes to the state's largest aquifer.

The American East Coast is in the grip of what appears to be drone fever, with sightings stretching from Massachusetts to Virginia triggering everything from social media speculation to calls for military intervention.

The reports have become so frequent that authorities created a "No Drone Zone" extending two miles around the stadium for a football game in Maryland.

"We can't ignore the sightings that have been there," an FBI official said on Saturday during an impromptu briefing. "But I think there has been a slight over-reaction." The agency revealed that of more than 5,000 reported sightings, less than 100 warranted further investigation, with most large fixed-wing sightings turning out to be perfectly legal manned aircraft.