Tourist sparks NY terror alert after crashing his drone into World Trade Center

A 22-year-old videographer from Texas didn’t expect his trip to New York to involve the FBI and New York Police Department’s counterterrorism unit after taking his drone for a spin.

Adam Ismail sat through six hours of questioning after he crashed his drone into the 7 World Trade Center on Monday. The DJI Air 2S drone was around eight stories in the air before Adam lost control of the device as it wedged between two glass panels above the front entrance of the 42-story building.

Shortly after the incident, Adam approached the receptionist in hopes that they could retrieve the drone from the building.

“I’m like ‘hey man, I just crashed a drone into y’alls building, this is a little embarrassing to tell somebody right now but it kind of is what it is’, he said.

“‘Is there any way that you, me or somebody can maneuver around the building and get that for me?”

The 22-year-old took to Instagram to share the story @adamismai1 / Instagram

To his surprise, he was greeted by the NYPD outside the building. Up until this point, he said ‘didn’t cross my mind’ that he was near the World Trade Center. In a 16-minute video posted to Instagram titled ‘The Drone Story’, Adam recalled the incident.

The DJA Air 2s drone was worth around $1,200@adamismai1 / Instagram

He said, “They interview me, ask me a few questions: where am I from, what am I doing, why am I in New York and the just the series of events that took place and everything”

“I’ve been asked the same questions more than I can count on two hands so they can confirm I’m not BSing my story and I’m here to do what I said I was doing.”

A spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told Fox News said they had received a tip about a drone crash just before 3pm. It prompted action from law enforcement that resulted in Adam receiving a ticket for violating the city code preventing personal drone use.

You can watch the full video here.