Texas Tourist Causes Panic After Crashing Drone Into World Trade Center

A tourist from Dallas, Texas, caused a bit of a panic during a recent trip to New York City.

Adam Ismail triggered a massive law enforcement response when he crashed his drone into the 7 World Trade Center on Monday, August 2.

“It was quite a New York greeting. Now I’ve got a great New York story," he told the New York Daily News.

Ismail was flying a small personal drone in the hopes of filming cool footage of Manhattan during his vacation for his social media channels. The drone flew up eight stories before it got wedged between a metal facade and the windows of the World Trade Center building.

7 World Trade Center is a few blocks away from the 9/11 Memorial Center so it didn't occur to him that the building was part of the World Trade Center, Ismail explained in an Instagram video.

He went into the building to ask if there was some way to get his drone back. Once he learned that wasn't possible, Ismail turned to leave but ran into the New York cops, FBI agents, and counterterrorism units that showed up.

That's when Ismail learned that flying a drone in New York City is illegal. Law enforcement cut the tourist loose after grilling him for a few hours and gave him a ticket for violating city code.

Ismail won't be getting his drone back, but that's a small price to pay.

“I’m glad I’m not in jail," he said.