Empire State Building Drone Crash, Drone Hits Landmark

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Man crashes drone into Empire State Building - A man was taken into custody by New York police Thursday night after allegedly flying a drone into the Empire State Building. The drone hit the 102-story skyscraper at the 40th floor, according to WABC TV, and fell to a ledge on the 35th floor.

The operator, who was reportedly trying to take pictures with the drone, went inside to report the incident to the building’s security guards, who turned him over to New York police.

The New York Times identified the man as Sean Riddle, 27, of Jersey City, who the paper said was arrested shortly before 8 p.m. on Thursday on charges of reckless endangerment and aviation in and over New York City.

A man by the same name had earlier Tweeted word of the event.

filming w/drone, now its stuck on the empire state building....w/security #backgroundcheck @BlueMalus @johnnypittman pic.twitter.com/U5ih1hb2jz

— Sean Nivin Riddle (@SeanRiddle12) February 4, 2016

He did not respond to messages from the Washington Post. There was no word on whether or not the drone was retrieved.