A New Jersey man was arrested on Thursday after a drone he was flying crashed into the 40th floor of the Empire State Building in New York City, police said.
The 29-year-old man was taken into custody after a small aircraft he was piloting struck the iconic building before coming to rest on the 35th floor on Thursday evening, the New York City Police Department said.
The man asked building security personnel for his drone back after they retrieved it, but instead they called authorities, a police spokesman said.
No injuries and no property damage were reported, according to police.
The local NBC affiliate in New York identified the man as Sean Nivin Riddle. A man with the same name Tweeted that he was filming with a drone and that it had stuck the Empire State Building.
He faces reckless endangerment and avigation in and over the city charges, police said.
The incident comes as U.S. government agencies and state and local police forces seek to better identify and regulate unauthorized drone flights due to mounting security concerns arising from the unmanned aircraft.
A similar incident occurred in September when a New York City public school teacher was arrested on reckless endangerment and other charges after a drone he was operating crashed into the stands in a stadium during a U.S. Open tennis match, according to authorities.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-drone-idUSKCN0VE0E4
“… a drone he was flying crashed into the 40th floor of the Empire State Building…”
What the hell was he thinking???
Coulda brought that building crashing to the ground!