A 22-year-old videographer and financial trader from Texas could never have guessed that he would be spending day two of his New York vacation with the FBI and New York Police Department’s counterterrorism unit. But that’s what happens when you accidentally fly a drone into the 7 World Trade Center building.
Adam Ismail, who lives in Dallas, learned a hard lesson about drone regulations on Monday afternoon when his DJI Air 2S drone crashed into the 52-story Lower Manhattan building and got lodged on the building’s facade on the third floor.
The drone was about eight stories into the air before it crashed and got stuck between two glass panels right above the front entrance of the building.
World Trade Center drone crash not a terror threat
A spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told FOX News that the Port Authority Police desk had received word about the crash just before 3 p.m. The tip triggered a massive city- and federal-level law enforcement response that ended with Ismail receiving a ticket for violating the city code preventing personal drone use.
Ismail, meanwhile, told NY Daily News that he was taking footage for his social media followers:
I was making a personal travel video to show my followers on social media. I post on Instagram.
Read more: Florida man shoots down Sheriff’s Office drone investigating possible burglary
Apparently, he wasn’t aware that the building was part of the World Trade Center, so the 9/11 terrorist attacks didn’t even cross his mind. He said:
The New York Police Department, the counterterrorism unit, and the FBI responded. Wow! It was quite a New York greeting. Now I’ve got a great New York story. Everybody was a good sport. I didn’t give the cops a hard time, and they didn’t give me a hard time. They just had to check that I was doing what I said I was doing.
According to CBS, the drone remained wedged in the building at the World Trade Center site late Monday night.
But for Ismail, the loss of a new drone is just a small price to pay. “I’m glad I’m not in jail.”
Read more: Drinking and droning don’t mix: Japanese man learns the hard way
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments