Man who crashed drone at White House works for intelligence agency

While the Secret Service has yet to release any more details about the operator of the drone that crashed at the White House, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has identified the operator as one of its own employees.

The 2-foot-long quadcopter was found early Monday morning.

“The employee was off duty and is not involved in work related to drones or unmanned aerial vehicles in any capacity at NGA,” said the agency in a statement on Tuesday.

Earlier Tuesday, The New York Times reported the man had been drinking at a friend’s apartment prior to heading outside to fly the drone around 3 a.m. Monday. The man said he lost track of the drone and feared it flew over the White House.

The New York Times reported he later went to bed after losing track of the drone, fearing that he had flown it over the White House. On Monday, he saw the news reports.

“The employee self-reported the incident Monday,” Don Kerr, the spokesman for the agency, told The New York Times.

The NGA focuses on satellite imagery and “anyone who sails a U.S. ship, flies a U.S. aircraft, makes national policy decisions, fights wars, locates targets, responds to natural disasters, or even navigates with a cellphone relies on NGA.”

h/t: The Hill