The drone was spotted by officers around 1:20 AM, and police found the operator, Howard Solomon III, after wind caused him to lose control of the unmanned aircraft and it landed in Ellipse Park near the White House.
US Park Police cited Solomon for launching, landing, or operating an unmanned aircraft and confiscated the recreational drone.
Washington as well as all communities within 15 miles of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were declared “Drone Free” zones following the attacks of September 11th attacks.
The FAA even developed an app for recreational drone users which will alert them if they are flying in a restricted area.
The Secret Service however, has had trouble keeping up with the toy’s skyrocketing popularity as of late.
In January, a quadrocopter drone manned by a drunk off-duty government worker landed on the lawn of the White House, causing a two-hour lockdown until the case of the mystery drone was resolved. The non-hostile invasion caused the Secret Service to step their game up, and for several weeks their drones took over the sky to test strategies for fending off possible hostile drone intrusions.
Agents now have hand-held air missiles, and are working on counter-measures that would zap electronic components inside of drones with electromagnetic waves.
In May, however, another man was arrested after flying his drone in a park. His small black and red drone — that was not much larger than a brick — was seized and the area was swept by police until it was deemed safe. The man was turned over to the US Park Police as the White House went into lockdown for about an hour.
In June, the White House was locked down once again as another drone was spotted.
The repeated security breaches have lead to increased scrutiny on the agency and their ability to protect government officials.
