FBI investigates drone crash outside NJ refinery

Federal authorities are looking into an incident in Linden, New Jersey, in which a small drone crashed into a car outside a Phillips 66 oil refinery. No immediate threat was identified, but officials are on edge in the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris.

Security at the Bayway Refinery phoned the Linden Police Department on Wednesday morning after a small unmanned aerial vehicle crashed into a car in front of the facility. The drone’s operator picked up the UAV, put it in his car, and drove off, WABC-TV reported.

Officers are looking for the man in order to establish his intentions.

A spokesman for the refinery, Dennis Nuss, told reporters that the facility hadn’t been affected, but the drone activity was concerning due to “homeland security” reasons.

The refinery is located in Linden, a city of 40,000 located on New Jersey’s “Chemical Coast,” just across the Arthur Kill channel from Staten Island, New York.