New Jersey Man Arrested For Crashing A Drone Into Empire State Building
Sean Nivin Riddle, a resident of New Jersey was arrested by the authorities after the drone that he was using to take photos of the Empire State building stuck on the 40th floor, ultimately landing on the 35th.
Police said that the 27-year-old Riddle lost apparently lost control of the aircraft in an attempt to take pictures of the iconic building on Thursday night.
Investigators said Riddle was arrested at the scene and is expected to face criminal charges, which can come with a punishment of up to seven years in prison. He was being questioned by officers at the Midtown South police zone.
Riddle tweeted that he was speaking with security after the drone got stuck on the Empire State Building.
This is what he wrote on his own Twitter feed: “filming w/ drone, now its stuck on the empire state building….w/security.”
https://twitter.com/SeanRiddle12/status/695392728964681728/photo/1
Investigators said that they do not believe the crash was intentional. No one was hurt and no property was damaged.
There are no specific regulations for flying drones in New York City, as long as they are registered in a national database. However, operators can be charged if cops they think public safety is at risk.
