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Officials Claim Drone Incursion Led to Shutdown of El Paso Airport

nytimes.com

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Re: Officials Claim Drone Incursion Led to Shutdown of El Paso Airport

#131

Post by JumpinJack_Cash »

graemep wrote: post #124
baq wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You aren’t, probably was flagged down by not being hacker enough (or more likely for being an open invitation to runaway speculation without any grounding in reality and facts)

This also seems to be an open invitation to runaway speculation. A lot of the speculation is ridiculous given only a small area has been closed. That is not a prelude to war, for example!

War no, but extraction absolutely.

Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire were closed off the day before Maduro's extraction

Re: Officials Claim Drone Incursion Led to Shutdown of El Paso Airport

#132

Post by jmclnx »

belter wrote: post #74
fabian2k wrote: post #65

There is a circular restriction around the airport and a trapezoid one next to the city ( https://elpasomatters.org/2026/02/11/unexplained-faa-order-s... ). What are the plausible explanations here? I can't think of anything except military action against Mexico (or the cartels inside Mexico). But even that doesn't fit well. A suspected terror attack could explain the airspace around the airport, but not the weird tr…

[flagged]

Nice, I would have fed it through rot13 first, giving:

4775722052636667727661205376797266

Re: Officials Claim Drone Incursion Led to Shutdown of El Paso Airport

#133

Post by DebtDeflation »

renegade-otter wrote: post #86
viraptor wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Without cutting off the roads first? That wouldn't make much sense, right?

Well, air travel spreads things harder and faster.

Sure, but people will just drive to the next closest airport and fly. Quarantine makes no sense as an explanation without accompanying roadblocks.

Re: Officials Claim Drone Incursion Led to Shutdown of El Paso Airport

#135

Post by SirFatty »

le-mark wrote: post #109
u1hcw9nx wrote: post #89

Action to close airspace over a major city in the US for security reasons over extended period hasn’t happened since 9/11. 10 day closure for security reasons seems really long. edit: Same restriction imposed around Santa Teresa, New Mexico. ~15 miles northwest of the El Paso airport.

El Paso is the 6th largest city in Texas so not “major” but certainly large.

Ft. Bliss is there as well...

Re: Officials Claim Drone Incursion Led to Shutdown of El Paso Airport

#136

Post by morkalork »

mothballed wrote: post #76
fabian2k wrote: post #65

There is a circular restriction around the airport and a trapezoid one next to the city ( https://elpasomatters.org/2026/02/11/unexplained-faa-order-s... ). What are the plausible explanations here? I can't think of anything except military action against Mexico (or the cartels inside Mexico). But even that doesn't fit well. A suspected terror attack could explain the airspace around the airport, but not the weird tr…

Most plausible comment I found on the internet was the government lost something in that trapezoid and doesn't want anyone to fly over it and find it until it's collected.

Quick, someone call Skinner and get Mulder and Scully on the case!

Re: Officials Claim Drone Incursion Led to Shutdown of El Paso Airport

#137

Post by thebruce87m »

mothballed wrote: post #76
fabian2k wrote: post #65

There is a circular restriction around the airport and a trapezoid one next to the city ( https://elpasomatters.org/2026/02/11/unexplained-faa-order-s... ). What are the plausible explanations here? I can't think of anything except military action against Mexico (or the cartels inside Mexico). But even that doesn't fit well. A suspected terror attack could explain the airspace around the airport, but not the weird tr…

Most plausible comment I found on the internet was the government lost something in that trapezoid and doesn't want anyone to fly over it and find it until it's collected.

Broken Arrow?

Re: Officials Claim Drone Incursion Led to Shutdown of El Paso Airport

#138

Post by bdbdbdb »

viraptor wrote: post #77
fabian2k wrote: post #65

There is a circular restriction around the airport and a trapezoid one next to the city ( https://elpasomatters.org/2026/02/11/unexplained-faa-order-s... ). What are the plausible explanations here? I can't think of anything except military action against Mexico (or the cartels inside Mexico). But even that doesn't fit well. A suspected terror attack could explain the airspace around the airport, but not the weird tr…

The not-totally-crazy ideas from Reddit include: - it's related to the annouced GPS disruption test (although that's a really long time and doesn't seem urgent enough) - someone in Mexico is getting kidnapped by Gov - nuclear tests I wish those were crazy ideas, but here we are...

I don't know which Reddit thread you're reading (there are many I'm sure) but the one in r/Aviation seems to have a favourite theory that there was a credible threat of someone with MANPADS, which are shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles and not some sort of sanitary product.

Apparently they have a ceiling of 18,000ft which is exactly the limit of the restriction in El Paso. Aircraft are allowed fly over if they go above that

Re: Officials Claim Drone Incursion Led to Shutdown of El Paso Airport

#139

Post by tootie »

fabian2k wrote: post #65

There is a circular restriction around the airport and a trapezoid one next to the city ( https://elpasomatters.org/2026/02/11/unexplained-faa-order-s... ). What are the plausible explanations here? I can't think of anything except military action against Mexico (or the cartels inside Mexico). But even that doesn't fit well. A suspected terror attack could explain the airspace around the airport, but not the weird tr…

I honestly assume it's something petty. Like an El Paso air traffic controller was rude to a deportation flight pilot.

Re: Officials Claim Drone Incursion Led to Shutdown of El Paso Airport

#140

Post by soulofmischief »

mikkupikku wrote: post #50
sph wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aren't those countries thousands of miles away from El Paso, Texas?

Please understand, Geography is only taught for optional extra credit in American schools. (I wish this were a joke.)

What? I had to take Geography.
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