{
 "publisher": "DroneLedger",
 "site": "https://droneincidents.com",
 "generated": "2026-10-17T07:05:08+00:00",
 "release": "20261017T070508507388-c4d3dc",
 "license": {
  "name": "CC BY 4.0",
  "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "attribution": "DroneLedger (droneincidents.com)",
  "excludes": "Quoted source passages and linked articles remain the copyright of their publishers; they are included as short quotations for verification. Linked media and satellite images remain the rights holders' property; no image or video licence is granted by this dataset. Fonts (SIL OFL) and map data (Natural Earth, public domain) keep their own terms. City and region names in automatically published dossiers are checked against GeoNames (geonames.org, CC BY 4.0). Drone drawings and animations are schematic illustrations of a type, not evidence about any incident."
 },
 "assessmentNote": "DroneLedger assessment, not a finding. Editorial likelihood bands, not calibrated statistical confidence intervals. Unknown has no numeric probability. Outcomes are attributed reports; no totals or inference of intent from a hit.",
 "assessmentScale": {
  "version": "di-estimative-v1",
  "levels": {
   "almost_certain": {
    "low": 95,
    "high": 99
   },
   "very_likely": {
    "low": 80,
    "high": 95
   },
   "likely": {
    "low": 55,
    "high": 80
   },
   "roughly_even_chance": {
    "low": 45,
    "high": 55
   },
   "unlikely": {
    "low": 20,
    "high": 45
   },
   "very_unlikely": {
    "low": 5,
    "high": 20
   },
   "almost_no_chance": {
    "low": 1,
    "high": 5
   },
   "unknown": {
    "low": null,
    "high": null
   }
  }
 },
 "evidenceNote": "Each dossier separates three claims: drone presence, impact and attribution, each with its own evidence state and supporting sources. 'reported' means a source describes the claim without sufficient identification evidence; claims by parties to a conflict are never 'confirmed' on their own. Counts reflect dossiers in this curated archive, not all incidents worldwide. windowStart/windowEnd are reporting-window calendar bounds, not individual event days; legacy date remains the compatibility/sorting date for such records.",
 "locationNote": "lat/lon are the dossier's own approximate coordinates (see locationPrecision) and are empty when the incident location is unknown. referencePoint {lat, lon, level, name} is a display reference only: a fixed point in the named city (GeoNames), region (its administrative seat), sea or country (Natural Earth label point), derived at build time. It is not a geolocation, not an estimate of the incident location and may change when the dossier's place becomes more precise: reference point; incident location unknown.",
 "detailsNote": "media, operationalEffects, followUp and archiveEntity are editorial, source-indexed additions. Media is publisher-link only, has its own evidence status and never establishes drone presence or attribution. Debunked original-media links are removed; archived revisions omit media references. archivePattern is computed from mapped published event records at generated time, not a worldwide incident count. Null asOf means not established; publication time is not substituted.",
 "dataset": {
  "doi": "10.5281/zenodo.23345422",
  "url": "https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23345422",
  "note": "Citable weekly snapshot (CSV + JSON) archived on Zenodo; this DOI always resolves to the latest version."
 },
 "howToCite": "Cite the dossier URL and revision, e.g. DroneLedger, “Drone report in Kyiv, Ukraine”, dossier auto-ua-2026-10-17-595b0ef7cb, revision 2, updated 2026-10-17. https://droneincidents.com/incident/auto-ua-2026-10-17-595b0ef7cb/",
 "incident": {
  "id": "colorado-nebraska-drone-reports-2020-01-13",
  "title": "Colorado investigation does not substantiate reported mystery drone formations",
  "place": "Northeastern Colorado and southwestern Nebraska",
  "country": "United States",
  "countryCode": "US",
  "date": "2020-01-13",
  "dateKind": "statement",
  "scope": "wave",
  "category": "sightings",
  "droneStatus": "reported",
  "impactStatus": "reported",
  "attributionStatus": "none",
  "lat": 40.5,
  "lon": -102.5,
  "locationPrecision": "region",
  "summary": "Reports of apparent drone formations in Colorado and Nebraska in December 2019 and January 2020 prompted a multi-agency investigation. In its13 January update, Colorado public safety officials said they had not substantiated suspicious or illegal drone activity.",
  "impact": "Authorities investigated the reports and then scaled back proactive operations while continuing to accept reports. No injury or damage is attributed to this reported wave here.",
  "evidence": "The Colorado agency provides its investigative findings. ABC independently reports on the wider Colorado/Nebraska response but relays the same agency conclusion; these are separate publishers, not two independent technical identifications of a formation. Officials identified some ordinary hobbyist drones and other explanations without establishing the alleged large formations.",
  "unknown": "13 January is the statement date, not a single flight date. The rolling official page was initially dated 9 January. The inquiry had not conclusively explained every report; absence of substantiation is not proof that all sightings were fabricated. A separate medical-helicopter encounter was considered unrelated and is excluded. No exact count, coordinated operator or formation is established.",
  "attribution": "No operator or organisation is established for the alleged formations.",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Colorado Department of Public Safety: rolling investigation updates,13January findings",
    "url": "https://publicsafety.colorado.gov/press-release/updates-on-investigations-into-suspicious-drone-activity-in-ne-colorado",
    "published": "2020-01-09",
    "family": "colorado-department-public-safety"
   },
   {
    "label": "ABC News: reports across Colorado/Nebraska and later investigation outcome",
    "url": "https://abcnews.com/US/mystery-drone-faithful-undeterred-lack-evidence/story?id=68264339",
    "published": "2020-01-14",
    "family": "abc-news-disney"
   }
  ],
  "timeline": [
   {
    "date": "2020-01-13",
    "text": "Colorado publishes findings without substantiating suspicious or illegal drone activity and scales back proactive operations.",
    "source": 0
   },
   {
    "date": "2020-01-14",
    "text": "ABC reports the agency conclusion and continuing public reports.",
    "source": 1
   }
  ],
  "droneStatusSources": [
   0,
   1
  ],
  "impactStatusSources": [
   0
  ],
  "attributionSources": [],
  "droneTypes": [],
  "claims": [
   {
    "id": "reported-wave",
    "axis": "drone",
    "statement": "ABC describes the earlier regional reports.",
    "quote": "Reports of drone fleets crisscrossing northeast Colorado and southwest Nebraska at night began in mid-December",
    "claimant": "ABC News regional reporting",
    "originId": "abc-colorado-nebraska-20200114",
    "relay": "direct",
    "assessment": "supports",
    "note": "A report of formations, not confirmation of formation flight.",
    "sourceIndex": 1,
    "quoteCheckedAt": "2026-10-17",
    "quoteTranslation": {}
   },
   {
    "id": "not-substantiated",
    "axis": "drone",
    "statement": "The agency says it did not substantiate suspicious or illegal activity.",
    "quote": "nor have investigations substantiated reports of suspicious or illegal drone activity",
    "claimant": "Colorado Department of Public Safety",
    "originId": "cdps-findings-20200113",
    "relay": "direct",
    "assessment": "contradicts",
    "note": "Limits the suspicious-formation claim; does not disprove every sighting.",
    "sourceIndex": 0,
    "quoteCheckedAt": "2026-10-17",
    "quoteTranslation": {}
   },
   {
    "id": "investigation-scaled-back",
    "axis": "impact",
    "statement": "The agency announces reduced proactive investigation.",
    "quote": "CDPS will scale back proactive operations",
    "claimant": "Colorado Department of Public Safety",
    "originId": "cdps-findings-20200113",
    "relay": "direct",
    "assessment": "supports",
    "note": "Administrative response, not proven physical harm.",
    "sourceIndex": 0,
    "quoteCheckedAt": "2026-10-17",
    "quoteTranslation": {}
   }
  ],
  "review": "editor",
  "checkedAt": "2026-10-16",
  "autoCheckedAt": null,
  "updatedAt": "2026-10-17",
  "revision": 1,
  "series": [],
  "windowStart": null,
  "windowEnd": null,
  "windowBasis": null,
  "assessment": null,
  "outcome": [],
  "assessment_scale_version": null,
  "assessment_operator_subject": null,
  "assessment_operator_level": null,
  "assessment_operator_range_low": null,
  "assessment_operator_range_high": null,
  "assessment_target_subject": null,
  "assessment_target_level": null,
  "assessment_target_range_low": null,
  "assessment_target_range_high": null,
  "assessment_droneType_subject": null,
  "assessment_droneType_level": null,
  "assessment_droneType_range_low": null,
  "assessment_droneType_range_high": null,
  "media": [],
  "operationalEffects": [],
  "followUp": [],
  "archiveEntity": null,
  "namedLocation": null,
  "publisherMedia": [],
  "reportTiming": null,
  "archivePattern": null,
  "impactReports": [],
  "corroboration": "curated",
  "interceptionReported": {
   "evidenceState": "reported",
   "note": "Official aggregate claims, not independently verified kills. Parts are included only when explicitly sourced and sum to the reported total. Catalogue countermeasures are not incident evidence.",
   "counts": []
  },
  "referencePoint": null,
  "labels": {
   "category": "Reported sightings",
   "droneStatus": "Reported",
   "impactStatus": "Reported",
   "attributionStatus": "Not established"
  },
  "url": "https://droneincidents.com/incident/colorado-nebraska-drone-reports-2020-01-13/",
  "citation": "DroneLedger, “Colorado investigation does not substantiate reported mystery drone formations”, dossier colorado-nebraska-drone-reports-2020-01-13, revision 1, updated 2026-10-17. https://droneincidents.com/incident/colorado-nebraska-drone-reports-2020-01-13/",
  "history": [
   {
    "revision": 1,
    "date": "2026-10-17",
    "at": "2026-10-17T05:39:24.892+00:00",
    "note": "Curated dossier created after checking the cited sources line by line."
   }
  ]
 }
}