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Tech

4 Vehicles That Have Crashed at the White House and Are Still Legal

Dear reckless pilots: Please stop doing your best to get drones banned.
​Screengrab: ​YouTube

Update, 1/27/15: A DJI spokesperson has said the company "unequivocally [does] not endorse the illegal or irresponsible use of unmanned aerial systems." The full statement can be found at the bottom of this article.

A drone crashed at the White House this morning. There's not *that* much to say about it, other than screw the man who did this.

The news obviously set the overreaction wheels in motion immediately: Why did the Secret Service allow this to happen? How could this possibly happen? And, of course, the drone freakout began.

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I've said repeatedly it takes one idiot to get all drones banned. We've found our idiot. http://t.co/qpQMtAskHu

— Matt Waite (@mattwaite) January 26, 2015

Here is a short sample of security breaches at the White House in the last couple decades:

In 1994, someone crashed an actual airplane at the White House. http://t.co/BIuxpLiZkN pic.twitter.com/ezQjfsv4qS

— Brendan Schulman (@dronelaws) January 26, 2015

  • In October, 1994, a man sprayed the White House with between 20 and 30 shots from a semi-automatic rifle. Rifles are still legal.
  • In February, 2001, a man fired shots at the White House. Guns are still legal.
  • Last year, a man jury rigged a piece of wood to his Jeep's gas pedal, pointed it at the White House fence, and then ran onto the fence in an attempt to paint the "Don't Tread on Me" snake on the side of the White House. The Jeep was filled with hundreds of bullets, eight knives, two machetes, and a hand-held scope. All of those things are still legal, as are Jeeps.
  • In 1974, an Army private stole a helicopter and landed it on the White House grounds. Helicopters are still legal.
  • In 1974, a man crashed his Chevy Impala into the White House fence. Cars are still legal.

As far as I know, none of these incidents resulted in anyone an overreaction about the specific technology used to breach the White House's fence.

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So, why are we losing our minds about drones? What this idiot (and this person, certainly, was an idiot.  ​He was also flying a Phantom, which is not surprising) did was already banned—​it's illegal to fly drones in Washington DC for precisely this reason. So why are we allowing it to "shift the debate on civilian drones?" I have watched enough Congressional proceedings to know that this will be pulled out as Exhibit A in some future hearing.

I'm going to speculate that radio jamming may have downed the White House drone. People have detected RF issues near embassies, etc.

— Brendan Schulman (@dronelaws) January 26, 2015

But let's call this what it is: It was one person exercising poor judgment and possibly poor flying skills. Some have also theorized that radio frequency jamming at the White House might have automatically downed the drone, which would explain away the poor flying skills but doesn't fix the whole this-guy-is-an-idiot thing.

Meanwhile, there are still no specific rules anyone can refer to about the use of drones—maybe this person, whoever it ends up being, can plead ignorance. But let's not all use this man's poor judgment as an excuse to vilify an entire technology.

Update 1/27/15: DJI, the manufacturer of the drone, said it is glad that the drone operator stepped forward.

"As for this incident, we are gratified that a member of the multirotor community stepped forward to claim responsibility. We unequivocally do not endorse the illegal or irresponsible use of unmanned aerial systems, which is why we have built in tools to help DJI pilots fly safely—particularly restricting flight near airports and providing the ability to cap height and distance limits in accordance with local laws," the company said. "We are also continuously working with regulators and law enforcement to ensure our products integrate safely and responsibly into national airspace."

Carl Franzen contributed additional reporting to this story.